England throw in the towel at tea and lose all 10 in a session
Bangladesh 220 & 296 beat England 244 & 164 by 108 runs
WHEN all is said and done this Test match will be remembered for one thing – the spectacular collapse in which England lost all 10 wickets on a crazy third evening as Bangladesh swept to an historic win.
England had been set fair in pursuit of 273, which would have represented their highest run chase in Asia, as they headed into tea on 100-0.
But the loss of Ben Duckett, bowled by Mehedi Hasan, to the first ball of the evening session sparked an implosion that saw England bowled out inside a session for the first time since 1938.
“I can’t explain it,” said coach Trevor Bayliss.“There was a lot of pressure and a wicket turning square and shooting through and leaping. It’s all very difficult.
“It’s always a bit difficult to score runs when you lose a wicket or two. I suppose what you’re trying to do is stay in but that’s probably one of the worst things you can do.”
For Bangladesh this was a momentous victory, their first in Tests against anyone other than Zimbabwe and a severely weakened West Indies, who they beat away in 2009 during a players’ strike in the Caribbean.
Mehedi was the hero for the hosts, taking 12 wickets in the match and 19 overall in the series, the teenager’s first in Tests.
Along with Shakib Al Hasan, who took 4-49, the off-spinner ran though England’s batting line-up in 22.5 overs.
It’s hard to believe both captain Alastair Cook and Duckett, whose brilliant counter-attacking 56 from 64 balls was his first Test half-century, had made batting look so easy in the previous session.
Yet the inability of England’s other batsmen to counter the spin of Shakib and Mehedi does not bode well for India, where Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja lie in wait for the upcoming five-Test series.
“The only thing you can do is experience it more often,” Bayliss said of adapting to turning conditions. “There is no quick fix.”
Cook admitted afterwards the nature of England’s collapse might mentally scar his players for the upcoming challenge in India.
“It could do,” he said. “This is when we need to really stay strong as a group. A change of environment will be good for us.We go to India as pretty heavy underdogs, there’s no doubt about it.”
One of the main factors that will make England such heavy underdogs in India is the fact they not only look vulnerable batting against spin but bowling it, too.
Moeen Ali was the best of England’s four slow bowlers across these two Tests, taking 11 wickets at 22.
However, even he lacked control, with Cook forced to turn back to the seam of Ben Stokes to dry up the run rate here as Adil Rashid and Zafar Ansari went at more than four runs an over.
“We’re not hiding behind the fact that we haven’t got worldclass spinners,” said Cook.
“We’ve got guys who can bowl some really good balls and spells. The one thing we do, we can’t quite control well enough at the moment.We bowl jaffas, but we’re easy to knock off strike and don’t build the kind of pressure we’d like. It’s not for lack of trying.”
Bayliss added:“The young guy that took all the wickets, one of his plusses was how accurate he was. Where at times we’d bowl a couple of good balls and then let the pressure off with a half-tracker, half-volley or ball down the legside. It’s something we discussed after the first Test. It is a learning process and one the guys are trying to get right.”
Bowling against Tamim Iqbal, whose majestic century on the first day did much to set the game up for Bangladesh, wasn’t easy for any of England’s bowlers.
Imrul Kayes, his opening partner, then hit a fine 78 to wrestle back control for the hosts after a 99-run ninth-wicket stand between Chris Woakes and Rashid had given England a 24run first innings lead.
Stokes was fined 15 per cent of his match fee for a prolonged verbal altercation with Sabbir Rahman on the final morning as
England lost their cool while Bangladesh cashed in on four dropped chances to build on their lead.
That set the tone for a day that was to end badly for England, who must mark this as one of their worst Test defeats of recent times.
For Bangladesh, though, the moment of victory, fittingly sealed by Mehedi trapping Steven Finn lbw, was sweet.
Mushfiqur Rahim, the Bangladesh captain, said: “It’s a great effort for him and it’s only the beginning for him.
“It’s a great moment for Bangladesh cricket. I hope there will be more good results coming our way and they will send us more games against the big boys.”