HITTAGONG, Bangladesh, (Reuters) – Graeme Swann completed a maiden 10-wicket haul to help England overcome some stubborn resistance from Bangladesh and register a 181-run victory on the fifth afternoon of the first test yesterday.
Off-spinner Swann ended a battling 167-run sixth-wicket partnership in the second over after the lunch break to dash any hopes Bangladesh had to saving the match as England ran through the tail after struggling for more than two sessions.
Zunaed Siddique struck his maiden test century and received valuable support from vice-captain Mushfiqur Rahim as Bangladesh saw off the morning session without the loss of a wicket in pursuit of a world record victory target of 513.
However, Zunaed was unable to add to his lunch score of 106, giving a catch to Paul Collingwood at slip after spending more than six-and-a-half hours at the crease and negotiating 292 balls in an innings which included 17 fours.
Coming together with the score on 110-5 around 20 minutes before tea on the fourth day, Zunaed and Rahim batted out more than two sessions to revive Bangladesh’s faint hopes of getting something out of the match.
Once Zunaed departed, Rahim soon followed when he charged down the wicket to a Swann delivery but missed the line and was bowled for 95.The diminutive wicketkeeper-batsman, who also scored fifty in the first innings, struck 12 fours in his 212-ball vigil.
“We were a little bit concerned. Full credit to the way those two fought, they didn’t give us any chances,” England captain Alastair Cook told reporters. “If you apply yourself and bat really well, (you are) really hard to get out.
“It was easy to get frustrated but the way we kept our emotions in check to keep our skill level high was very important.”
THREE SIXES
England then raced through the tailenders as Bangladesh, who had resumed on 191-5, were eventually dismissed for 331 in their second innings.
Naeem Islam was the last man out, caught by Michael Carberry off Swann at midwicket after making 36 off 45 balls, blasting three sixes and as many fours in his cameo to give the handful of supporters remaining in the stadium something to cheer.
All but one of his boundaries came off Swann, who finished the second innings with figures of 5-127 and was named man of the match after his overall 10-217 performance.
“Swanny has so much control of his game, he is very easy to captain. He knows the fields he wants and you trust him to make the breakthrough,” Cook added.
“To get 10 on that wicket was an amazing effort and he bowled a lot of overs, so that shows determination.”
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan believed that had Zunaed and Rahim survived a little longer into the afternoon session, the hosts would have had a chance.
“During lunch, I told Mushfiqur (Rahim) we needed to work hard for around 40 more minutes to do something, but we could not do it,” he said.
“They came back strongly after the break and showed their character. They are really professional and they kept bowling in the good areas that created the pressure on us.”
The second and final test starts in Dhaka on Saturday.
