Bangladesh suffered an abysmal collapse of 9 for 49 in their first innings but then removed three England wickets before rain brought an early finished to the first day of the Dhaka Test

The Report by Alan Gardner28-Oct-2016
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThis was a day of Test cricket in two halves. During the first 41 overs, with Tamim Iqbal in imperious form, 171 runs were scored and just one wicket fell; from the 35.2 bowled thereafter, the corresponding returns were 99 and 12. By the time rain arrived to cut the evening session short, with England three-down in their reply to 220, it was unclear quite where the balance of power resided.Bangladesh’s innings had lurched from the serene to the tremulous. An astonishing collapse either side of the tea interval resulted in a nausea-inducing slide of 9 for 49, a seemingly dominant position reduced to rubble. Moeen Ali was the main catalyst and beneficiary for England, although Ben Stokes’ steadfast spell of 6-2-7-2 before tea deserved high praise, his mastery of reverse swing once again causing the sorts of problems that spin – initially at least – had failed to achieve.Momentum was certainly with England as they began their innings, having fought back from one of their worst bowling performances of recent memory, but once again a fragile top-order was exposed by spinners more confident in their craft. Ben Duckett fell in the second over, before Mehedi Hasan removed Alastair Cook – lbw via the latest review in a series stuffed with them – and Gary Ballance to leave England 42 for 3 and looking anxiously to Joe Root for the required innings of substance.Despite losing a wicket in the third over of the day, Tamim’s third Test hundred against England had given Bangladesh a solid foundation and left Cook frantically shuffling through his bowling options. Mominul Haque scored a crisp half-century as he and Tamim inflicted fresh psychological blows on an already beleaguered spin cohort during a stand of 170 – Bangladesh’s highest for the second wicket against England – which came at a rate comfortably above four an over.Tamim bestrode the morning and early afternoon during a regal innings full of judicious stroke-making that culminated in two full-blooded drives through the covers to go to three figures, though he did not add many more having unwisely chosen to pad up to Moeen’s arm ball. Mominul’s first significant contribution of the series was also an accomplished knock but he was then bowled for 66 playing back to a similar delivery. That over, the 46th of the innings, was the first maiden bowled by a spinner, a measure of how England had been unable to contain the pair.The twist, when it came, was a sharp one and all the more surprising after England’s subcontinental weak spot had been exposed again. Following on from Tamim and Monimul, the next-highest score was 13, as Stokes once more exerted his will on proceedings by providing both control and penetration, while Moeen located a groove to finish with 5 for 57 – only his second five-for in Tests.Stokes’ threat was also physical, as Mushfiqur Rahim could attest. With the ball reversing, Stokes had Mahmudullah taken at slip and he then roughed up Mushfiqur with a snorting bouncer that struck the Bangladesh captain on the back of the helmet as he turned away. He got up to carry on after treatment by the physio but was back in the changing room minutes later after a brilliant catch from Cook at leg slip, who clung on at the second attempt after Mushfiqur had inside-edged a glance off Moeen through his legs.Sabbir Rahman, so nearly the hero of Chittagong, fell meekly to Stokes with the tea interval approaching; Chris Woakes struck twice straight after, having Shuvagata Hom and Shakib Al Hasan caught behind; and England successfully turned to the DRS to have Mehedi lbw before Moeen rounded things up when Kamrul Islam Rabbi was taken at slip.Mushfiqur’s head must have been spinning twice over. He had had better luck at the start of his 50th Test, having won the toss and decided to bat first – just the sort of good fortune he must have hoped for after electing to go in with a fourth spinner on a cracked surface that was expected to turn.It could yet prove decisive, after Tamim rammed home the initial advantage. His eighth fifty-plus score against England in 11 innings came after Woakes had picked up a wicket in his second over and helped Bangladesh respond emphatically during a rousing stand with Mominul. Tamim motored to 60-ball fifty, having failed to score off his first 19 deliveries during a watchful opening, and also successfully utilised the review system – such a feature of the first Test – by overturning a caught-behind decision on 66, shortly before the lunch break.Cook struggled for control throughout the morning session, with only Stokes going at less than three runs an over. Zafar Ansari, into the side as one of two changes from England’s victory in Chittagong, suffered a chastening introduction to Test cricket as his first six overs were taxed to the tune of 36 runs. The debutant left-armer was not seen again.England had found success after being put into the field, throttling the scoring and removing Imrul Kayes, and after four overs the card had gone nowhere at 1 for 1. Mominul eased the pressure with a brace of boundaries off Woakes; Tamim, meanwhile, was content to bide his time against the new ball.Cook turned to Moeen in the seventh over but the sight of spin encouraged Tamim to kick into gear as he stepped out to drive his first boundary. Three fours off Woakes – leg-side flick, back-foot drive and a meaty pull – confirmed that he had hit his stride and another brace came in the next over, as Tamim welcomed Ansari by crunching him through the covers and down the ground. Ansari did succeed in drawing an edge with his second delivery, though it scuttled wide of slip for three, and his opening over cost 13 runs, England still no nearer to finding a spinner who could offer control.Mominul happily ceded the impetus to his partner, as Bangladesh reached the top of the hour in a much more comfortable position at 67 for 1, with England also wasting a review against Tamim when he padded up to a Moeen delivery that was shown to be bouncing over the stumps. Tamim’s fifty came up via a sweep off Ansari and it took a vigorous spell from Stokes to ensure Bangladesh’s progress would not be completely unfettered.It was Stokes who thought he had broken through, too, when Kumar Dharmasena raised his finger for a catch down the leg side. However, DRS quickly confirmed that the ball had flicked Tamim’s thigh pad rather than glove, the procession of successful reviews growing longer. Tamim then took a blow to the ribs from a Stokes short ball before Mominul stroked the 15th boundary of the morning sessions to ensure Bangladesh went in to lunch far the happier of the two sides. Then things got a lot more complicated.