BAN v ENG, 1st Test Review: England completes narrow victory

It took England just the three overs on the fifth day’s play and two majestic deliveries from Ben Stokes to snuff out the Bangladesh resistance on the morning of the final day’s play of the first Test match at Chittagong. However, in spite of this, Bangladesh was also credited quite a bit courtesy of their fight and grittiness they showed in bringing the match to within the close margin that it was.

Ben Stokes, who would later go on to be named as the player of the match bowled two of the three overs bowled on the day to snuff out the resistance as he claimed the two wickets. Spin played a massive role in the match with the majority share of wickets being claimed by the spinners on the day. Moreover, the fact of the matter remained that some England pacers, such as Ben Stokes also impressed quite a bit with their bowling acumen.

The first day of the first innings itself saw a massive tide turn in terms of the bowlers deployed by Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim. Mehedi Hasan, the debutante at the age of 18 was impressing with his ability to turn the ball. Of course, there were those elements in the pitch that allowed the teenager to do the same yet it was important to witness him achieve turn on this track.

The youngster picked 6 wickets in the first innings barring some responsible batting from Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, and Jonny Bairstow. What came next, however, was some terrific bowling from the England spin trio who made a few strides along their way of going about their bowling. Once again, apart from some impressive batting acumen shown by Tamim Iqbal, it was the spinners who bowled in tandem along with Ben Stokes to rip through the batting order.

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Mehedi Hasan and Shakib-Al-Hasan would then make their entry into the grand scheme of things as they would help Bangladesh go about chasing a target that could be achieved. Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow however, once again dug the Brits out of trouble with some phenomenal batting, something that posed the match rather evenly on the knife-edge.

The final innings of the Test match finally saw the likes of Gareth Batty and Sabbir Rahman stand out as influencers for their respective sides. While 38-year old Batty smashed the wickets of the Bangladesh batsmen, Sabbir Rahman’s debut was consummated by a wonderful half-century, something that brought the hosts agonizingly close to their first Test match win against England.

However, on the final day, it took barely 20 deliveries to complete the 22-run win for England, a win that will most certainly be viewed as a smash and grab.

England, 1st innings: 293 all out

Bangladesh, 1st innings: 248 all out

England, 2nd innings: 240 all out

Bangladesh, 2nd innings: 263 all out (Sabbir 64*; B Stokes 2/23)

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