Magnificent Stokes gives England upper hand
Ben Stokes came up with a superb innings to rescue England from a precarious situation and lead the visiting team to safety on day three of the opening Test at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium in Chittagong on Saturday (October 22).
At stumps, England was 228 for 8 in 76 overs, ahead by 273 overall after having taken a 45-run first-innings lead.
Stokes, who picked up four wickets to help instigate a Bangladesh collapse from 221 for 5 to 248 all out, carried the team with the bat too once England had slumped to 62 for 5 with Shakib Al Hasan the wrecker-in-chief.
Stokes, who came in at 46 for 4, began watchfully but then went up a gear during a crucial 85. England was also aided by Jonny Bairstow’s 95-ball 47. On the back of those numbers and resistance from the tail, the visiting team ended the day with a healthy overall lead.
The base for a good day at the office had been laid at the start of the day, with Shakib falling to the second ball of the morning. The Bangladesh allrounder was looking good on his overnight score of 31, but he was stumped when he charged down the track to Moeen Ali, undone by the flight.
Stokes meanwhile, ran in and cranked up speed from the other end. Alastair Cook persisted with Stokes and replaced Moeen with Adil Rashid at the other end, and was immediately rewarded with the wicket of Shafiul Islam.
Stokes, who had one wicket to his name on Friday, too struck gold as soon as he trapped Mehedi Hasan, the debutant, in front of the stumps. Into his sixth over, Stokes set sights on a swift finish and that’s exactly what he achieved by getting rid of Sabbir Rahman and Kamrul Islam in the same over.
England had a 45-run lead, and looked comfortably placed, until Shakib and Mehedi put the team in a tangle by lunch, reducing the score to 28 for 3. Moeen and Gary Ballance kept calm and played well in a tricky post-lunch phase, but as luck would have it, Ballance swept straight to leg-slip off Taijul Islam and England was in trouble once again.
It also didn’t help that Moeen, who made a brilliant 68 in the first innings, fell to the same stroke in Shakib’s over. England was staring at a collapse until Stokes took on the role of resuscitator.
He played the percentage game to perfection and got runs in a hurry to score his seventh Test half-century. Bairstow wasn’t a subdued second in the partnership either. But Bangladesh didn't give up the fight. Rabbi got rid of Bairstow and a couple of overs later, Shakib got the better of Stokes. Stokes’s 85 came from 151 balls with 6 fours and three sixes.
Rashid didn’t hang around for long, but Stuart Broad (10) and Chris Woakes (11) stuck around to ensure England would have a chance of extending its lead further.
