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Bangladesh vs England, 2nd Test, Day 2, Preview and Predictions: Both teams look to grab upper hand

As many as 13 wickets fell on Day One of the second Test at Mirpur. Bangladesh lost the plot and were bowled out for just 220 after they were 171 for 1.

Bangladesh will try to scalp early wickets on Day 2 © Getty Images
Bangladesh will try to scalp early wickets on Day 2 © Getty Images

As many as 13 wickets fell on Day One of the second Test at Mirpur. Bangladesh lost the plot and were bowled out for just 220 after they were 171 for 1. Tamim Iqbal played exceptionally well and scored his eight Test ton. He put on 170 for the second wicket, but that’s as good as things got for Bangladesh. After Tamim fell for 104, it opened the floodgates and Bangladesh could add just 49 more runs since he walked back to the hut. England in reply, finished the day at 50 for 3, still trailing the hosts by 170 runs with seven wickets in hand. FULL Cricket Scorecard: Bangladesh vs England, 2nd Test at Mirpur

Moeen Ali was the pick of the bowlers for England, finishing with figures of 5 for 57. He was the one, who got rid f Tamim, which paved the way for England to make a comeback in this match. He was well supported by Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes, who got some reverse swing going in the latter stages of the Bangladesh innings. Woakes, who spearheaded the bowling attack in the absence of Stuart Broad, finished with three wickets and Ben Stokes chipped in with a couple as well. Just about 75 overs were bowled in the day as poor lights played a part in the day being called off in the end. However, England’s first target on Day Two will be to play out the first our without losing any wickets and look to consolidate from there. They will need someone to play the sort of innings that Tamim did for Bangladesh.

Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim – playing his 50th Test – had a worrying moment on the field when a bouncer from Ben Stokes. The impact of the bouncer was so sever that his helmet flew to Jonny Bairstow behind the wickets. He stayed on the ground for a while. The Bangladesh physio had a look and after a few minutes of agony, Mushfiqur was back on his feet as the crowd cheered him on.

England openers Alasiair Cook and Ben Duckett looked positive, but they were dismissed after they tried to get the better of the spinners. Duckett in fact hit a six as well, but that is as good as things got for him. Gary Ballance’s poor run with the bat continued. Wonder how many more chances he will get for England. Root did not have a particularly good first Test and will look to make amends for his failure in this game. Moeen on the other hand scored 68 and 85 in that match and will look to carry on his good form in this game as well.  England however have depth in their batting. Everyone till No. 11 can bat and that could eventually turn out to be the difference between the two sides. England will try their best to get at least 300 on the board and look to get Bangladesh dismissed as early as possible. Every run is going to be important from here, for both sides.

Mehedi Hasan Miraz was brilliant in the first Test and has already picked up two out of the three wickets to fall in the England innings already. Mededi along with Shakib-al-Hasan and Taijul Islam are going to be the main players, who will be entrusted to get a huge chunk of the wickets in this match. Bangladesh also have the part-time option of Shuvagata Hom, Sabbir Rahman and also Mahmudullah with their off-spinners when needed.

Bangladesh lost the first Test by a heartbreaking 22-run margin. They will not want to repeat the same mistakes they did in the first game. They will want to get rid of the in form Moeen, first thing on Day Two as he was the difference between the two sides at Chittagong. With 13 wickets already having fallen on Day One, it will not be surprising to see Bangladesh bat again on Day Two. If they do get a chance to bat, they have to ensure that they do not collapse the way they did in the first innings. It is going to be more tougher to bat in the third innings, but with the quality they have in their top-order, they should be able to negotiate the England bowlers in the early stages of the innings.

Having lost around 15 overs today, play might start early on Day Two to make up for the lost overs. This will be a crucial day as both teams will look to get an upper hand over their opposition. For now however, the match is very evenly poised.

Brief scores:

Bangladesh 220 (Tamim Iqbal 104 , Mominul Haque 66 ; Moeen Ali 5 for 57, Chris Woakes 3 for 30) lead England 50 for 3 ( Joe Root 15*, Alastair Cook 14; Mehedi Hasan 2 for 26) by 170 runs.

(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry.com. He is a sports enthusiast and a keen observer of cricket, the contests, and its personalities. When not tracking cricket, he follows the world’s soccer leagues and is somewhat partial towards Liverpool. His Twitter handle is @pramz)

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