Late strike keeps Test evenly poised

Another fascinating day of Test cricket came to an end with Bangladesh perhaps slightly better placed, trailing England's first innings score of 293 all out by 72 runs with five wickets in hand and two recognised batsmen waiting their turn. A battling and accomplished 78 from opener Tamim Iqbal placed the home team on the road to a dominant position which was compromised when skipper Mushfiqur Rahim was dismissed two overs before the close of play on the second day of the first Test, a day in which Bangladesh dominated every session but England struck back with crucial wickets before each break in play.

At the end of play at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong under floodlights as play had extended past the scheduled close, Bangladesh had reached 221 for five with Shakib Al Hasan unbeaten on 31 and Shafiul Islam keeping him company as the nightwatchman.

Mushfiqur had batted resolutely and with purpose to score 48 on a difficult wicket, but was undone by a Ben Stokes delivery that moved away and took the edge through to Jonny Bairstow.

The last half hour of the day saw Stokes and Stuart Broad get some reverse swing and the quest for survival dried up the runs, but for most of the evening session first Tamim and Mushfiqur, then Mushfiqur and Shakib were intent on keeping the scoreboard moving on a pitch that Tamim later said did not allow the batsmen to ever feel truly set.

Tamim had struck up a 90-run third-wicket partnership with Mahmudullah Riyad in the second session after the first ended with a double-wicket over from off-spinner Moeen Ali that had Bangladesh at 29 for two. Riyad himself was dismissed off what turned out to be the last ball before tea.

Mushfiqur came out after tea with Tamim and took up the attack with a step toward the pitch of the ball from Ali in the 46th over and immaculately timed a bunt through cover for four. He followed that by skipping down the track and hitting a boundary straight over mid on, signalling a lift in the run rate.

Tamim finally fell to Batty for a 179-ball 78 that featured seven boundaries when he edged an attempted back foot drive to the keeper in the 55th over.

Earlier in the afternoon session, the left-hander started to open up after quietly negotiating England's spell of good bowling. His first boundary came off the 48th ball he faced, off an Adil Rashid full toss that he creamed through cover.

From then on the left-hander took advantage of whatever bad ball came his way. He offered one chance at 28, that too a tough one, which Rashid at full stretch could just get his fingertips on. He served notice of being in peak form when, with a twitch of the wrists off the first ball of the 29th, he placed a Stokes delivery beautifully to the midwicket fence.

The day started off in the best possible way for Bangladesh with Taijul Islam getting a much-deserved wicket off the first ball of the day when he had Chris Woakes caught off a bat-pad chance at short leg for 36 to get England eight down for 258. Mehedi Hasan Miraz bowled from the other end and a torrid match for Dharmasena resumed when he adjudged Adil Rashid to be leg-before, but the decision was overturned when Rashid called for the eighth review of the innings.

Rashid's innings however ended on 26 in Taijul's next over, when he fell to a sharp catch at short cover by Sabbir.

The third review of the day, and a record 10th for the innings, was taken by Bangladesh when umpire Chris Gaffaney turned down a caught-behind appeal against Broad which was overturned. That ended England's innings on 293 and made Miraz the second-most successful Bangladesh bowler on debut with figures of six for 83.