Ben Stokes seals dramatic 22-run win for England against Bangladesh in Chittagong
The Durham all-rounder took the last two wickets of the Bangladesh innings.
England have won a thrilling first Test match against Bangladesh by 22 runs after a nail-biting finish on the fifth and final day in Chittagong. All-rounder Ben Stokes took the final two wickets in the first 25 minutes of play to secure the man of the match award in what was an engrossing contest from first ball until last.
The tourists began the final day of the game knowing they needed to take two more wickets to avoid their maiden defeat against Bangladesh in Test cricket. The hosts, on the other hand, needed 33 runs to secure their place in history.
Despite the sharp turn on offer throughout the match, Alastair Cook opened the bowling with his two most-senior fast bowlers, Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes. And after an initially composed start to the modest run chase, Stokes proved to be the difference between the two teams, holding his nerve under pressure to win the game.
The first wicket of the day fell when the left-handed tailender Taijul Islam was trapped lbw for 16 on review by Stokes. At first, England's decision to review umpire Kumar Dharmasena's initial opinion appeared to be optimistic, but the ball-tracking technology confirmed that the ball would have clipped the stumps.
And two balls later, the heroic Stokes was bang on target again for the tourists, cutting the ball back from outside the off-stump to trap Shafiul Islam for a second-ball duck and seal a brilliant victory for England in alien conditions. The decision was reviewed for a record-breaking 26th time in the game - but umpire Dharmasena was proven correct by the video evidence.
"We pretty much knew it would myself, Broady or Woakes to take the ball first up with the way it was reversing. But we always had the option of spin if it wasn't moving," Stokes - who scored 103 runs and took six wickets in the game - said during the post-match presentation. "I have started off pretty well but it is a long winter from here. Hopefully this is just the starting point and I can perform on a consistent basis."
The final game of England's tour of Bangladesh begins in Dhaka on Friday (28 October), with the tourists having already won the one-day international series 2-1.
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