England are currently playing the Bangladesh cricket team in the first of the two-match Test series in Chittagong. The English side had a terrible first session as they lost three wickets before the lunch. The batsmen seemed to struggle against the spin duo of the experienced campaigner Shakib-Al-Hasan and debutant Mehedi Hasan.
Early wickets meant that Moeen Ali had to come in early to tackle the spin and steady the sinking English ship. The left-hander came in to bat at the 12th over after Mehedi had caught Gary Ballance right in front of the wickets. Moeen had a nervous start to his innings as the left-hander was struggling to read the pitch and the spinners made it even difficult for him. Moeen nicked a few and looked shaky in his defense.
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Moeen had his defense broken when the left-hander went for a sweep and completely missed a quicker one from Shakib in the 16th over. The Bangladeshi team's appeal was turned down by umpire Chris Gaffaney and the team decided to carry on while the replays showed that the ball would have gone on to hit the stumps clearly. The English batting pair of Joe Root and Moeen Ali slowly started to get the feel of the pitch and were looking to build on. However, Ali still was still struggling with his defense against the spin.
Shakib troubled the left-hander again in the 27th over after he let one skid through that hit Moeen low on his right leg. The Bangladeshi team made a huge appeal and this time around it was Kumar Dharmasena who took the decision to raise his finger. Moeen immediately reviewed the decision and the third umpire had Dharmasena turn around the decision after the replays showed Moeen getting a clear edge on the bat before the ball hitting his pads.
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The players made their way to the lunch at the end of 28th over and just when the England fans thought that the batsman would come back strong in the second session, Moeen was in trouble again. Shakib bowled the first over after lunch and the left-arm bowler caught Moeen in front in the 2nd ball of the over. This time, the Bangladeshi fielders tried to be as loud as possible, and Dharmasena was quite convinced and raised his finger again. Moeen reviewed this and the decision was turned down once again after the replays showed the ball missing the leg stump.
Another appeal two balls later, and this time, it seemed quite close to the naked eye. The same story followed - Bangladeshi team appealed, to which Dharmasena agreed, and Moeen reviewed. The result- NOT OUT again. This time, the ball hit the batsman outside the line of off-stump and hence the decision was ruled out.
It sure seemed to be a lucky day for Moeen as he survived four LBW appeals and was given out on three occasions and yet managed to stay at the crease with the help of DRS.
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