Bangladesh v England 2nd Test, Day 1 – 5 Talking Points

Having elected to bat first Bangladesh were dealt an immediate blow as Chris Woakes scalped Imrul Kayes in the 3rd over of the game but things bettered for them as the pair of Tamim Iqbal and Mominul Haque got together and built a solid partnership that laid a superb platform but only if someone was willing to utilize it.

In the post Tea session, England bowlers ran through the middle and lower order to bowl them out for 220. Bangladesh weren’t done yet for the day and hit back hard before the end of the day to claim 3 quick wickets while England had just added 50 runs on the board. Here are the 5 talking points of the day.

1. Tamim Iqbal’s ton:

Tamim took his time to get off the mark and registered first runs only on the 20th ball of his inning but as he got himself in showed no hurry while made the most of the scoring opportunities coming his way. The first boundary he scored was a slap drive through the covers. He played the cut and the pull, used his feet and the sweep shot. His 104 runs came off 147 balls at a strike rate of 70.74 which included 12 boundaries. He got to the triple figures, his 7th Test century but was soon dismissed by Moeen Ali before he could cause more damage.

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2. Tamim-Mominul partnership:

The duo got together pretty early in the day and faced the England front line bowlers and the new ball. They not only ensured there was no further early damage but also constructed a partnership that eventually proved to be everything their first inning could be defined about. Tamim and Mominul added 171 runs together. The former scored a praise-worthy century while the latter’s efforts deserve a mention as well. During his half century Mominul was patient and cashed on to the chances, he hit ten boundaries in his 66-run knock.

3. Ali’s fifer:

Moeen Ali isn’t quite the spinner you visualize who could trouble a subcontinent team in their own backyard but to his credit, the off-spinner who doesn’t carry a heavyweight tag delivers more often to the team’s cause. As the Bangladeshi’s looked to capitalize having worked a big 3rd wicket stand he dismissed both the set batsmen and triggered the collapse that consumed the rest of the Bangladesh batmen. His figures of 19.5-5-57-5 helped England bowl the opposition out to a modest first innings total.

4. England run through the lower order:

Tamim and Mominul had set quite a platform and Bangladesh definitely fancied posting something in access of 350 while Ali did most of the damage English pace bowling pair of Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes used reverse swing to great effect and that saw Bangladesh lose 9 wickets for just 49 runs as they were bowled out for 220 from being just one wicket down with 171 runs on the board.

Also read- BAN v ENG, 2nd Test Day 1 Review: Bangladesh shoot themselves in the foot

5. Bangladesh close the day on a high:

They had done the hard work for most part of the day but it looked like the lost the momentum in the second half of the innings to hand England over the advantage. But as Alastair Cook and Ben Duckett walked out to bat Mushfiqur introduced his spinners and the partnership between Mehedi Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan was right on the money as they sent three English batsmen Cook, Duckett and Garry Ballance back to the pavilion with just 50 runs on the board. It was not just the wickets that mattered but also the impact it would have on those sitting and watching in the dressing room. Mehedi picked a couple while Shakib ended the day with one wicket.