England clinch a thriller

Chittagong, October 24 

Ben Stokes took the last two Bangladesh wickets in three balls as England won a thrilling first Test by 22 runs here, depriving their hosts of an historic victory.

Bangladesh, needing 33 runs for what would have been their first win over England in nine attempts, added 10 runs to their overnight total and were all out for 263 after 20 minutes of play. Sabbir Rahman was left stranded on 64 as the allrounder Stokes dismissed the other two batsmen in his second over. Stokes had Taijul Islam lbw for 16 following a successful review after umpire Kumar Dharmasena initially turned down a muted appeal.

Two balls later it was the turn for Bangladesh to ask for a review as Dharmasena declared the No. 11 batsman Shafiul Islam out lbw for a duck. The result came in England’s favour as Hawk-Eye indicated that the ball was hitting off stump, meaning the umpire’s initial decision stood. It brought an end to a thrilling battle between the two teams in a match dominated by spin. Stokes was named Man of the Match for taking six wickets in the two innings and also scoring 85 in England’s second innings.

Brief scores: England: 293 and 240 (Stokes 85, Bairstow 47, Shakib 5-85); Bangladesh: 248 and 263 (Sabbir 64*). — AFP