Bangladesh v England, 1st Test – 5 Talking Points

England made short work of the Bangladesh tail order to quickly bowl out Bangladesh for 263 on the final day and win the closely fought first Test a Chittagong by 22 runs. Resuming on 253 for 8, Bangladesh needed 33 runs to win. But, Ben Stokes made sure that there was no drama on the last day and quickly cleaned up Bangladesh to ensure a smooth win.

In the end, it was an easy win for the visitors who have now gone up 1-0 in the 2 match series. This win would boost their confidence of playing on spin friendly surface ahead of the highly much more challenging tour of India

1. Easy finish on the last day:

Bangladesh ended day four on an optimistic note. Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim’s resilient knocks made sure that the hosts stayed in the hunt. Sabbir Rahman remained unconquered at the end of the day on a 59 and was the only cause of concern for the bowling side.

Bangladesh had their eyes on securing their first win against England in nine matches and also only their 8th test win in 94 matches.  But, Ben Stokes denied them this special victory. The all-rounder, who had been fantastic throughout the Test, quickly pocketed the wickets of Taijul Islam and Shafiul Islam and wrapped up the match within 25 minutes of the start on the final day. Sabbir Rahman – the only hope for Bangladesh – was left stranded as England scripted a wonderful win.

2. Ben Stokes’s all-round show:

Ben Stokes was the top performer for the hosts this Test match. The all-rounder contributed with both bat and ball and was the by far the standout performer among both the teams. It was due to his contributions that England managed to pull back things in their favour during the course of play on the last four days and eventually win the match.

His excellent display of reverse swing bowling got him 4/26 in the first innings and 2/20 in the second innings. He was a failure with the bat in the 1st inning having able to make only 18 runs but England would probably lost this Test easily had the left-hander not come to their rescue in the second innings with his memorable 85 runs knock. His overall performance guided England to a fine victory and also helped him grab the Man of the Match award.

3. Mehedi Hasan’s fabulous debut:

Teenage debutant Mehedi Hasan had dream debut. The 19-year-old off-spinner took England batsmen by surprise with his orthodox bowling and trouble England in both the innings.

He claimed figures of 6/80, the 6th best figures by a Bangladeshi on debut to fold up England at 293 in the 1st innings. England was put into deep trouble by the offie rocked the top order on a spin friendly track. Four of the wickets in the first innings were of top order men.

His first international scalp came in the form of another debutant Ben Duckett. He then added Gary Ballance, Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow to finish with highly impressive numbers. The second innings was quite forgettable for him where he could get only 1/58. But overall, it was a fantastic debut for him.

4. Special game for Jonny Bairstow:

Wicket-keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow continued his fine form this year and played a vital role in the win at Chittagong. This game saw him accomplish a couple of feats. He completed the 1000 runs milestone this calendar; He has so far scored 1091 runs in 11 tests this year. Bairstow also became the first player since VVS Laxman to score 1000+ runs batting at No. 6 or lower in a year Laxman had made 984 in the year 2002.

The right-hander performed well in both the innings. Both his knocks came under pressure. His 52 in the first innings saw England manage a decent score on the scoreboard. In the second innings, he hit 47 in the 127 runs 6th wicket stand with Stokes which helped England extend their lead to a match-winning total.

5. Alastair Cook becomes the highest capped Englishman:

This Test saw England skipper Alastair Cook became England’s most capped Test player. It was Cook’s 134th appearance in whites for his country. He surpassed former England wicket-keeper Alec Stewart to attain the special milestone. The left-hander is already the only Englishman to score more than 10,000 Test runs. His fitness levels and run making form has made many experts predict that he would go on to play 200 Tests by the end of his career and eventually break Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time record for the most Test appearances.