England’s Stuart Broad (left) consoles Bangladesh’s not-out batsman Sabbir Rahman after England took the final wicket to win the first Test match on the final day’s play at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Cricket Stadium in Chittagong, yesterday.
Chittagong, Bangladesh: Ice cool skipper Alastair Cook insisted he never doubted England would hold their nerve after just preventing Bangladesh from pulling off an historic victory in a nail-biting first Test in Chittagong yesterday.
Ben Stokes took the last two wickets in three balls as England sneaked home by 22 runs in a match that ebbed and flowed throughout before the dramatic 20-minute conclusion on the morning of the fifth and final day.
Bangladesh had started the day needing just 33 runs for what would have been their first win over England in nine attempts.
But they added just 10 runs to their overnight total and were all out for 263 after 20 minutes of play at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium, with Stokes cleaning up the tail with the help of the televised review system.
Taijul Islam was the first to go, adjudged lbw for 16 after England appealed against umpire Kumar Dharmasena’s original not out verdict. Two balls later, Dharamsena declared the number 11 batsman Shafiul Islam out lbw for a duck -- a decision that was confirmed by TV replays after Bangladesh had appealed to the third umpire.
It was a heartbreaking end for Bangladesh to a Test in which they took England right to the wire, disappointing the hopes of millions of cricket fans who had been anticipating a famous victory. But speaking to reporters after the match, Cook -- who is famous for never breaking a sweat -- said he had found it easy to remain cool in what he acknowledged had been a “brilliant Test”.
“I was fairly confident this morning if I’m brutally honest,” said Cook who had flown back to Bangladesh only days after attending the birth of his daughter back home.
“I thought we’d create the chances, the doubt was whether we were good enough to take those chances. They might be half chances. But I thought we’d create enough to win the game so I was fairly relaxed.”
The match was Bangladesh’s first Test in nearly in 15 months but showcased how the one-time whipping boys of international cricket have made steady progress in recent years. The hosts played some impressive cricket during the match, with the teenage debutant Mehedi Hasan taking six for 80 in England’s first innings.
