India will not fear England spinners
Watching Tamim Iqbal tuck into England’s spinners in the morning session, it was difficult not to fear for them in India. India have not lost a home Test since losing to England in 2013, winning every match bar one – and that was a washout. In Chittagong, the ball turned from the first over but in Dhaka, the pitch offered only intermittent help so Alastair Cook needed his spinners to give him control – and they could not. Though they improved in the afternoon session, the feeling persists that Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and chums will not afford them that opportunity, unlikely to be fazed by whichever of Adil Rashid, Gareth Batty and Zafar Ansari England select. So perhaps they might find variety by way of four seamers, relying on Moeen Ali and Joe Root for spin – at least they are already in the team as batsmen. Batsmen who have to face Ravichandran Ashwin in helpful conditions. DH
Alastair Cook gets rumbled
At the toss, Alastair Cook was asked about his XI and, referring to the omission of Stuart Broad in particular, he explained that he was sure the team selected was capable of winning the game. The impression he gave, though, was of a man trying to convince himself, and in the television studio his old mate Matt Prior rumbled him immediately. The thing is, England, one up with one to play, had no choice – they need Broad fit and firing in India, particularly given the injury to Jimmy Anderson. But the fact remains that the best players should not have to miss series deciders in order to be protected from potential injury – it is not good for them and, more importantly, it is not good for the game. This is yet another reason why a Test championship is essential: central control of fixtures would facilitate more sensible and sensitive scheduling. DH
Why Tamim Iqbal loves England
Tamim Iqbal does enjoy playing England. With his 104 here, three of his eight Test centuries have come against the current opponents, his average of 63.27 against them some 23 runs higher than his overall career mark. Only five men who have played a minimum of 10 innings against England have a higher average, and one of them is Don Bradman. It took him 19 balls to get off the mark here, but after that he played an innings of precise and controlled aggression, expertly locating the holes in England’s attack then punching through them with gusto. The disappointment and frustration about Tamim was that he got out so quickly afterwards, bafflingly leaving a ball on off stump by Moeen Ali, lbw for 104: that is the fifth of those eight tons that have not gone beyond 109. Perhaps he needs a pep talk from Graham Gooch about daddy hundreds. NM
Gary Ballance needs time out
Gary Ballance’s recent Test numbers make ugly reading: since returning to the side in July, he has recorded scores of 6, 43, 23, 70, 28, 8, 17, 1, 9 and 9. Ballance actually played a couple of confident shots and was dismissed by a superb delivery from Mehedi Hasan, but the decision to keep him in the side after an indifferent summer looks more and more generous. He was pretty lucky to be selected for this tour, never mind this Test, having not scored a century since April 2015, in which time he has played 12 Tests and averaged just over 26. It does not help that as a batsman he is, shall we say, a “tough watch”, and when you start to pine for James Vince scoring an attractive 24 before nicking off, it is probably time to accept that Ballance needs a little time away from the Test team. NM
Bangladesh need to play more Tests
Moeen and Ben Stokes did bowl superbly in that spell just before tea, but a few of Bangladesh’s wickets were donated rather limply. At 171-1 the collapse was sudden but perhaps not unexpected: in the first Test they went from 221-4 to 248 all out in the first innings, then 227-5 to 263 all out in the second. A weak tail is one explanation, but it is also easy to forget that before the last game they had not played a Test in 15 months, and the diary ahead is not exactly full either. They have another two against New Zealand in January, one more in India shortly afterwards and that is it until after the Champions Trophy. Pickings remain slim, and they are not currently scheduled to play a series of more than two Tests until January 2019. There is talent in this team, but to improve they need to play more. NM
