Live Cricket Score of Bangladesh vs England, 1st Test, Day 1 at Chittagong

England - the oldest Test nation and Bangladesh - the newest entrant into the Test arena - played against each other for the first time on October 21, 2003 in Dhaka. It didn't exactly turn into one of those cliffhangers, with tension in the air and anxious players wiping sweat off their brows. In the end, England overcame a few hiccups to put it past Bangladesh by seven wickets.

Fast forward by almost 13 years to October 20, 2016. The two nations will again clash in the sweltering heat of Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong. The visitors, who started the tour on the right note by winning the One-Day International series 2-1, have blown hot and cold in the traditional format.

At the start of the year, England scaled great heights in South Africa with a 2-1 series win and brushed aside the feeble challenge of Sri Lanka. However, they could only draw the Test series against Pakistan 2-2. More importantly, they lost at Lord's and The Oval - both tracks that aided the spinners a tad. It would be interesting to see whether England's losses at Lord's and The Oval is a premonition of things to come in Bangladesh.

James Anderson, England's leader of the pack, and by far the best equipped pacer in the ranks for Asian conditions, will be missing from action. The veteran pacer has been troubled by a should problem. In his absence, the likes of Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn have to generate reverse swing and attire themselves quickly to the rhythm of bowling on subcontinental pitches.

England also have a few issues in the spin department. Gareth Batty, who played in England's inaugural Test against Bangladesh in 2003, returns to the Test fold after a 11-year hiatus. Jack Leach and Ollie Rayner put up better performances when compared to Batty during the County season, but curiously, Batty was given the nod.

Batty's Surrey team-mate, Zafar Ansari, also is in the reckoning. The slow left-arm orthodox bowler and middle-order batsman was initially selected for the tour of UAE in 2015. However, he couldn't make it to the trip after dislocating his finger while fielding at cover point in a County game against Lancashire. Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali in all likelihood will be the two main spinners.

Alastair Cook, the Test captain, is set to become the most capped Englishman in the longest format of the game. Alec Stewart held the previous record - 133 Tests. The onus will be on him and Joe Root to glue England's batting together. In fact, the visitors will be worried about the middle-order travails in the recent past.

Ben Duckett, who compiled over 2,700 runs across formats in the domestic circuit this year, is favourite to partner Alex Hales. He cracked a couple of fifties in the just concluded three-match ODI series and also performed well in the warm-up game against Bangladesh Cricket Board XI. Duckett's ability to counter the spinners came to the fore when he netted in 266 runs in the Under-19 World Cup in the UAE in 2013-14. As Duckett is rated as a fine player of spin, it might help him to pip Haseeb Hameed for the opening slot.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, will be playing their first Test in 14 months. Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah and Mominul Haque should form the core of the batting line-up.

Meanwhile, Shakib also will be expected to lead the attack. Taijul Islam, who bagged a five-fer on his Test debut, will look to perform the supporting role. Kamrul Islam Rabbi, who was picked in the squad for the ODI series against Zimbabwe last year, is set to make his international debut.

Rabbi is the captain of Barisal Division in the domestic circuit and has been a steady performer in first-class cricket over the last seven seasons. Mehedi Hasan, the offspinner, could also sneak into the team.

The first Test could turn out to be a keen tussle as Bangladesh are playing on their own path. It has to be noted that to adjust to the tropical monsoon climes of the Asian County, England's players went through a rigorous training programme just before the first Test.

It is time to recollect some memories from the first ever Test played between Bangladesh and England at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka on October 21, 2003.

Two England cricketers - Rikki Clarke and Gareth Batty - made their Test debuts. Batty even snared his first Test wicket in his opening over, with Alok Kapali turning out to be the victim. Enamul Haque jnr, the slow left-arm orthodox bowler, was the lone debutant for the hosts. The legendary Wasim Akram too made his debut, but as a commentator.

A downpour lasting just 15-20 minutes meant that only 15 overs were bowled on Day 1. Bad light also came into play in the evening session. Many were critical about the drainage system. A few young boys had to even help out the groundsmen to cover the ground. However, enough damage had already been done by then.

In the few overs that were bowled, Hannan Sarker guided Matthew Hoggard's outswinger through the slip cordon for the first boundary of the match before Steven Harmison bagged a couple of scalps.

When Wasim Raja (match referee) walked out to the middle with Khaled Mahmud, Michael Vaughan and Bob Willis (commentator) for the toss, there was a special coin minted to commemorate the occasion.

England won the toss and opted to bat. On expected lines, Gareth Batty makes a comeback to the Test set-up after a 11-year hiatus. Ben Duckett has been handed out his first Test cap by Michael Atherton. Sabbir Rahman, Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Mehedi Hasan are the three Test debutants for Bangladesh.

Teams:

England (Playing XI): Alastair Cook(c), Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow(w), Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, Gareth Batty

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim(w/c), Shakib Al Hasan, Mehedi Hasan, Taijul Islam, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Shafiul Islam

Shafiul Islam generated a hint of away-swing and on occasions, movement off the seam to trouble Cook. In fact, he survived a shout for caught behind as well. Rahim, initially, thought of taking the review, but wisely decided against it. Shafiul is bowling a fuller length and hitting tidy lines.

Ben Duckett on his Test debut survived a few nervy moments, too. Mehedi Hasan, who is also playing in his first Test, beat him with a slider, but thankfully for the left-handed batsman, it didn't knock over the off-stump. Duckett is certainly having a few issues against the slider. On the other hand, the offspinner won't mind bowling with the new ball.

Duckett's nervy innings comes to an end. This one turned slightly and Duckett paid the price for playing inside the line and was castled. The tour of Bangladesh is going to be a learning experience for the young left-handed batsman.

Well, Alastair Cook has now been dismissed in his 134th Test. It was a slightly freakish dismissal as he looked to sweep Shakib Al Hasan, but the ball deflected off his forearm and then back of the bat before knocking over the leg-stump. The Bangladeshi camp is ecstatic as Cook is one of the mainstays of the batting line-up and has a wonderful record in the subcontinent.

Jeez! Now, England have got themselves into a mess as Mehedi Hasan traps Gary Ballance in front. Initially, the on-field decision was not-out, but great review from Rahim as he reckoned that it hit the pad first and he was right, too. Once S Ravi, the TV umpire, confirmed that it thudded the pad first, Ballance was always going to be in trouble. The HawkEye projected that the ball would knock over the middle-stump and Ballance had to make the walk back to the pavilion.

It was yet another slider from the offspinner and the batsman didn't pick it. He hurriedly looked to keep it out, but to no avail.

Joe Root turned out to be England's saviour as he guided the visitors to Lunch after they lost three early wickets. Moeen Ali backed him up with a useful unbeaten 17. Moeen, however, survived a few close shouts and was also given out LBW. The left-hander immediately placed his belief in the review and the UltraEdge showed that there was a spike. As a result, the decision had to be overturned.

Earlier, Mehedi Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan used the stock ball with the slider to befuddle the opposition and leave England in tatters at 21 for 3. The pitch is already assisting the spinners and a total of around 300 might turn out to be a good one.

Moeen Ali is taking a lot of chances with the review system. Moeen was given out leg-before by Dharmasena in the first over. However, replays suggested that the angle would take it down leg. Wait! The left-handed batsman tried the sweep again and was adjudged leg-before. Believe it or not! Replays showed he was struck outside the line of off-stump, this time.

Dharmasena, the umpire, under real pressure. Moeen, on the other hand, is surviving by the skin of his teeth.

Plenty of action after the Lunch break. Root, who played with a calm head on his shoulders in the first session, was prised out by Mehedi Hasan. England's tormentor induced Root to poke at a delivery that straightened. He edged it behind to Rahim and the ball deflected off his pads to the slip fielder.

Root didn't wait for the decision and walked back to the pavilion. He got caught in the crease and paid the price for it.

England lost half their side as Ben Stokes was cleaned up by Shakib Al Hasan. The allrounder mainly looked to play back. Thus, Shakib tempted him to come forward. Stokes was a tad late on his front foot defence and the ball sneaked through the gap between bat and pad and onto the stumps.

The tale of Moeen Ali and reviews! Mehedi Hasan took yet another review against Moeen, but replays suggested that the ball pitched outside the line of leg-stump. Moeen perhaps could think of buying a lottery today. Bairstow then offered a simple chance to Sabbir Rahman at slip, but he fluffed it.

Moeen had led a a charmed life today, but the credit has to go to the Worcestershire allrounder for not giving up and cracking a fifty. He completed his half-century with a nicely timed punch off Kamrul Islam. England needed a substantial contribution from someone and Moeen has provided it.

After reaching his fifty, Moeen played with flourish as he cracked a couple of lofted strokes to up the tempo. Meanwhile, Bairstow cut, pulled and whipped the spinners to the fence and coupled it with measured defence. The duo also shared a crucial unbroken stand of 67 for the sixth wicket to lift the visitors to 173 for 5 at Tea.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, would rue the fact that Sabbir Rahman dropped a simple chance at slip, with Bairstow being the beneficiary.

Mehedi Hasan bagged his fourth scalp on his Test debut. The offspinner tossed it up to invite Moeen to prod forward. He also got it to turn to elicit the outside edge. The Worcestershire allrounder had his fair share of luck, but did well to glue the innings together with a crucial stand of 88 for the sixth wicket with Bairstow.

Significant milestone for Bairstow as he reached 2000 Test runs. He didn't have a great start to his Test career, but in the recent past, has put up consistent performances. Hence, he is now averaging over 42.

Mehedi Hasan bowled a peach of a delivery to end Bairstow's resolute hand. However, Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid were able to withstand Hasan's testing spell as the visitors finished the day on 258 for 7. The day certainly belonged to Hasan as he bowled with purpose and extracted appreciable to trouble all the English batsmen.

Incidentally, he also became the youngest cricketer from Bangladesh to pick up a five-fer on Test debut. The track is offering turn and it might turn out to be a cracker of a Test.