BAN v ENG, 1st Test Day 1 Review: Moeen Ali battles hard to save England blushes

The first Bangladesh-England Test at Chittagong was a momentous occasion for both parties Bangladesh and England as they beat the heat to play a good game of cricket. However, the fact of the matter was that it was England who faced the heat following a barrage of spin that was deployed by Mushfiqur Rahim. With the track starting to turn right from the get-go, it was clear that there would be a challenge for the England batsmen. A challenge that was gleefully accepted by the likes of Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow as they dug the Brits out of a hole.

The day began with the handing of the cap to the newly inducted Ben Duckett while Haseeb Hameed took his place on the bench. Gareth Batty took a minute to ward dust off his cap and put it back on his head after a hiatus of almost 16 years. The gloom, however, was more than evident on the faces of Cook and Duckett when Bangladeshi debutant Mehedi Hasan was handed the red cherry by his skipper in the second over of the day.

After fighting it out for 10 overs, the 18-year old Mehedi Hasan drew first blood. He had dismissed his compatriot and fellow debutant Ben Duckett by cleverly breaching his defenses. The wickets began to tumble as the Brits seemed to be out of place on a track that was offering a mile of turn. Alastair Cook was the next to go to cricket’s riskiest shot when Shakib’s devious delivery removed him.

The hemorrhage continued as Gary Ballance was the next to depart. After a few strokes to the fence, it was the turn of Joe Root to make the long walk back into the grandstands. Once again, it was the young Mehedi Hasan who was on a roll after removing the impressive Root for 40. After a six that comfortably cleared the deep extra-cover fielder, it was Ben Stokes who was cleaned up by the impressive Shakib.

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At 105-6, Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow were tasked with the uncanny responsibility of digging the Brits out of a hole. They began by smashing the ball around the park and playing the off-spinners with their sixth 50-run partnership, something they were able to pull off against the odds. They added 89 runs for the fifth wicket before both batsmen finally succumbed to the spin bowling tactics deployed by the Bangladeshi players.

Jonny Bairstow’s impressive resistance came once he completed his half-century. However, the takeaway as far as Moeen Ali would be concerned would be the lives he was given by the DRS system and the Bangladeshi players. He was let off the hook the first time when Mushfiqur Rahim decided against reviewing the leg-before. However, Ali survived the next five umpire decisions when the DRS system proved that he was indeed not out on the day.

Brief Scores:

England, 1st innings: 258/7 (M Ali 68; M Hasan 5/64)

Also read – 10 Facts about Mehedi Hasan – The young promising star from Bangladesh