Bangladesh fought with the mighty England in intriguing fashion on a tricky pitch to keep them alive of attaining a historical Test victory. The home side who never won against a top flight opposition barring the low profile Zimbabwe and depleted West Indies is now 33 runs shy of scripting a victory over England in the first Test with two wickets remaining. England bowlers bowled with hurt and vigor  and could wrap up the victory in the late afternoon of the fourth day but Bangladesh adopted a never-say-die attitude to stretch the match to the fifth day and set up a prospect of exciting finish to the first Test at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhur Stadium. Nations hopes however would rest on Sabbir Rahman and his final two tail-end partners, after an enthralling fourth day yesterday finished with all four results possible.
Sabbir checked his natural flamboyance for the sake of the team and aided by stubborn Taijul to weather the storm as England bowlers were on the business end. Before the bad light brought a premature end to the day, Bangladesh made 253 for eight, chasing 286 for victory .Sabbir was not out on 59, hitting the fifty on his debut Test, with Taijul Islam who looked like a solid batsman on 11.  Sabbir and Mushfiqur Rahim combined for an 87-run for the sixth wicket to raise the hope of a famo us victory in a day which saw a seesaw battle throughout the day.
England clawed back in the late afternoon and claimed three wickets for 11 runs to leave Bangladesh 238 for eight, before Taijul Islam (11 not out), helped Sabbir to resist. Sabbir’s innings was the intriguing mix of aggression and calmness. When even the diehard fans of the Bangladesh wrote off their chance after the dismissal of Shakib Al Hasan leaving the side to 140 for five, Sabbir

counterattacked in a style, unleashing all sort of shots from his repertoire and suddenly made Bangladesh favourite to win it. The hope was only evaporated after Mushfiqur got almost an unplayable delivery to be dismissed. Sabbir restrained him but kept Bangladesh’s hope, defying the inspiring spell of the England bowlers at late afternoon.
The home side kept the target attainable, bowling England out for 240 in its second innings early yesterday. England survived just 4.2 overs to add 12 runs to its overnight total of 228-8.
Bangladesh made an aggressive start with Imrul Kayes employing his feet well to neutralize the threat of spinners. He and Tamim Iqbal added a quick 35 before the latter was deceived by the turn and bounce on a Moeen Ali delivery and got an inside edge to short leg. Kayes and Mominul Haque then combined for a 46 runs in just 10.2 overs, but Kayes fell two overs short of lunch as he top-edged a sweep on an Adil Rashid ball, with Joe Root at slip making the catch behind the wicketkeeper.
The visitors took the upper-hand in the post-lunch session by taking three quick wickets. Off-spinner Gareth Batty dealt a double blow in his consecutive overs after lunch to get England back on track. He won a video review to dismiss Mominul Haque for 27 and removed Mahmudullah, who took a review in vain, for 17.
Just when Shakib Al Hasan appeared to take the side to safety, off-spinner Moeen Ali again struck with a delivery that shaped in to take the inside edge of Shakib for 24.
Sabbir joined Mushfiqur Rahim and counterattacked to make England bowlers disarray. While he was in aggressive mode, Rahim’s approach was serene. Batty only could distract Mushfiqur from his firm concentration when he got an extra bounce to undo him, bringing an end to an 87-run partnership. Mushfiqur spanned almost three hours and played 134 balls in his 39 runs knock. Sabbir by then hit three fours and two sixes to reach his maiden fifty off 76 balls but restrained him as the day approached to its business end.
Stuart Broad however executed fuller length delivery perfectly to remove Mehedi Hasan (1) and Kamrul Islam (0). As it appeared England would wrap up the victory, Taijul Islam stood tall to aid Rahman in ending the day without any trouble. Offspinner Gareth Batty took three for 65. Fast bowler Stuart Broad (2-26) and offspinner Moeen Ali (2-60) claimed two wickets apiece.