Tamim helps Bangladesh close in on England’s total
Tamim Iqbal continued his love affair with England yesterday to put Bangladesh in a promising position after day two of the first Test in Chittagong.
Tamim went past 50 for the seventh time in nine Test innings against the tourists and although he was unable to convert his fine start into a century, his 78 helped Bangladesh close on 221 for five in response to 293 all out. On a track that was still offering plenty of assistance to the spinners, Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim then built on Tamim's efforts before he was dismissed for 48 shortly before the close. Mushfiqur arguably would not have been able to bat with the early fluency he displayed had Tamim not
laid the groundwork first.
When England last faced Tamim in 2010, he was a top-order dasher, as a sparkling 94-ball hundred at Lord's proved, but he has clearly added nuance to his game - even though the slow pitch was probably as much to blame. Scoring at any point was particularly troublesome and Tamim only had 12 off his first 47 balls, but his instincts kicked in when a full toss from Adil Rashid came at him, flicking it away for his first boundary. That allowed him to settle as he went on to make a meaningful contribution before being removed by Gareth Batty, who claimed his first Test wicket in more than 11 years on his return to the side.
Batty's intervention took the total number of wickets to fall to spin to 14 - with 18-year-old Mehedi Hasan claiming six of those and conceding 80 runs in 39.5 overs, the second-best bowling figures by a Bangladeshi on debut.
Mehedi finished England's batsmen off yesterday morning by having Stuart Broad caught behind overturned on review, the last of a world-record 10 used during the England innings, with seven on-field decisions reversed. Broad and Rashid had earlier overturned the lbw decisions against them, having been brought together after Chris Woakes departed to the first ball of the morning, caught at short leg off Taijul Islam. Rashid's wristy whips added some vital runs to England's cause before he departed when he punched Taijul straight to short cover on 26 before Mehedi saw off Broad for 13. It was a total that looked challenging, and especially for a team that had not played Test cricket in 15 months.
Bangladesh started understandably cautiously against the new ball, which Batty shared after Stuart Broad had opened the bowling. Moeen Ali's introduction paid immediate dividends as he bowled Imrul Kayes
with a beauty that turned to clip his off stump, before finding some turn and bounce to account for Mominul Haque, who popped a catch to Ben Stokes at gully.
If Tamim and Mahmudullah were anxious on the resumption they did not show it and, while Moeen and Rashid exerted some early pressure, a couple of loose deliveries allowed the batsmen to settle.
Mahmudullah looked uncertain early on against Stokes but was more sure-footed against the spinners, although Tamim presented a half-chance on 28, when a diving Rashid spilled a loose cut off Moeen. The pair continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over, with England trying all manner of bowling combinations to no avail, and Tamim brought up his fifty with a back-foot punch off Moeen for his sixth four. Tamim was given out after being caught at slip but a review revealed the ball had struck his forearm, as the umpires' woes continued.
Rashid did make the breakthrough with the final ball before the tea interval when Mahmudullah edged a regulation legbreak low to slip on 38, ending a 90-run stand for the third wicket. Mushfiqur started positively, getting off the mark by using his feet expertly to club Moeen for back-to-back boundaries.
There would be no third century against England for Tamim, however, with the left-hander getting a thin bottom edge through to Jonny Bairstow, much to the delight of Batty on his first England appearance in more than a decade.
Mushfiqur and Shakib Al Hasan built steadily following his dismissal although the former was less confident against the seamers. He was reprieved on umpire's call after being rapped on the pads by Woakes but he would not be so lucky against Stokes, who claimed the first non-spinner's wicket when Bairstow took a low catch at the second attempt.