- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
Sabbir keeps hopes alive as history beckons
- Updated: October 23, 2016
Bangladesh 248 and 253 for 8 (Sabbir 59*, Taijul 11*) need another 33 runs to beat England 293 and 240 (Stokes 85, Bairstow 47, Shakib 5-85) Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Bangladesh’s hopes of securing their greatest Test victory were in the hands of their debutant batsman, Sabbir Rahman, and his final two tail-end partners, after an enthralling fourth day at Chittagong finished with all four results possible, and history on the cards for Test cricket’s youngest nation.
The situation at stumps, after a sensational final session played out in front of a fervent, expectant and ever-growing crowd, was simple. Bangladesh, chasing 286 for victory, were 33 runs short with two wickets standing, and Sabbir standing tall on 59 not out from 93 balls – a supremely gutsy performance from a man who utilised his experience in ODI and T20 cricket to break down the chase into calm and manageable chunks.
Alongside him at the close was the redoubtable figure of Taijul Islam, whom Sabbir trusted with the strike as he accepted every single on offer from a deep-set field, and who subverted all conventional tactics in the final over of the day’s play by swiping Gareth Batty for two ambitious lofted strokes down the ground, to reach the close unbeaten on 11 in a ninth-wicket stand of 15.
More to follow…
Tea Bangladesh 248 and 179 for 5 (Mushfiqur 22*, Sabbir 25*) need another 107 runs to beat England 293 and 240 (Stokes 85, Bairstow 47, Shakib 5-85) Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
England’s cricketers were facing a test of nerve in the face of a confident, no-regrets run-chase from Bangladesh’s batsmen, as the first Test at Chittagong built towards a thrilling climax on the fourth afternoon.
By tea, with the hardness of the new ball long gone and another probing spell of reverse-swing negated, Bangladesh had reached 179 for 5, with Mushfiqur Rahim and Sabbir Rahman settling into a vital and aggressive sixth-wicket stand. Bangladesh needed another 107 runs to seal what would unquestionably count as their greatest Test victory.
Sabbir, in particular, had …
