England always believed they would beat Tigers

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England spinner Adil Rashid says that the team always had the belief that they would win the first Test even when Bangladesh were just 23 runs from victory.

Rashid felt England did well in trying conditions with England unaccustomed to the heat of Chittagong and the turn off the deck.

The spinner wrote in his blog on Sky Sports: “We always believed we could win the first Test. We played good cricket throughout the game, in difficult conditions, and so to get over line in dramatic fashion at the end and get the win was hugely pleasing.”

He praised the efforts of Ben Stokes who starred with both bat and ball to drag a misfiring England team over the line and take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Rashid wrote: “Ben Stokes had an unbelievable game. He is the best allrounder in the world right now in my opinion. He always gives 100 per cent, with bat or ball, and he is a match-winner, as he showed in this Test.”

The tweaker had unreserved praise for England’s record breaking captain Alastair Cook.

The spinner added: ” To reach that milestone, Cooky has had to show great mental strength and determination. He has been great for English cricket, and hopefully there’s still many more years to come.”

When responding to a twitter question that asked who his favourite captain is Rashid hedged his bets: “I’ve played under some good ones, so it’s pretty difficult to say. There’s Cooky obviously, plus Eoin Morgan, and Andrew Gale at Yorkshire. All three are good in their own ways, and have their own methods.”

Rashid admitted that Bangladesh opener Imrul Kayes, young spinner Mehedi Hasan and Sabbir Rahman had been impressive adding: “Imrul Kayes has really impressed me, in the ODIs and the Tests, plus two of their debutants, Sabbir Rahman and Mehedi Hasan.

“The young off-spinner, Mehedi, bowled brilliantly in Chittagong, and Sabbir was unlucky not to get his team over the line with his half century in the run chase. Sadly, that’s just the way it goes in Test cricket, you can play a top innings but come out on the losing side.”

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