Mehdi Hasan's (5/64) superb effort on debut gave Bangladesh the honours on the first day of the first Test at Chittagong on Thursday. England were in trouble at 21/3 early in the day after Alastair Cook elected to bat. But the depth in their batting saved them the blushes as Moeen Ali (68), who was promoted to No. 5, and Jonny Bairstow (52) helped their side get to 258/7 at the close of play.
Bangladesh fielded three debutants and the 18-year-old Hasan stood out. All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan also chipped in with a couple of wickets. After Bangladesh picked up the wickets of Cook, debutant Ben Duckett, and Gary Ballance in quick succession, Joe Root (40) set the tone for an England fightback with a fluent, boundary-hitting knock.
Ali and Root's 62-run stand came to end soon after lunch. But, England were fortunate to build another partnership right after the fall of Ben Stokes' wicket through Ali and Bairstow, who brought up 88 runs for the sixth wicket. Hasan, who bowled a third of the overs in the day, came back to effect the wickets of Ali and Bairstow.
Brief scores:
England 258/7 (Moeen Ali 68, Jonny Bairstow 52; Mehdi Hasan 5/64) vs Bangladesh
