Friday, March 29

Bangladesh start batting after a big change


 

 

England were rattled in the fifth over when Shakib Al Hasan knocked back Ben Duckett’s leg-stump. Duckett left for a six-ball duck to the delight of the home crowd.

Mirpur crowd had something to cheer about early in England’s chase when Mashrafe Mortaza gave Bangladesh the first breakthrough in the 4th over.

England lost their first wicket with 12 runs on the board when James Vince edged his drive to Mosaddek at point. The ball moved a touch off the seam and got the better of the English opener.

England tour of Bangladesh, 2nd ODI

England: 18/2 (7.0 overs)

Bangladesh: 238/8 (50.0 overs)

Earlier, the 8th wicket stand of 69 between Tigers skipper Mashrafe Mortaza and Nasir Hossain lifted Bangladesh to 238 for 8 in 50 overs.

Mahmudullah was the highest run-getter for Bangladesh today with his 75. For England, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid and Jake Ball took two wickets each.

Mashrafe was the last man out for Bangladesh when he was run out in the 50th over, not before he set the stage alight with some incredible shots in his 44 from 29 deliveries. Mash smashed two fours and three audacious hits over the fence.

Bangladesh lost the important wicket of Mosaddek Hossain in the 42nd over when the batsman smashed a short-ball straight down the throat of Moeen at cow corner.

Mosaddek made 29 from 49, and played too many dot balls instead of giving the strike to the in-form Mahmudullah.

When Bangladesh looked to consolidate with their sixth wicket partnership, Adil Rashid threw a spanner in the works by dismissing Mahmudullah Riyad in the 40th over.

Mahmudullah was the mainstay in Tigers’ innings, and his knock of 75 in 88 balls kept one end secured when wickets were tumbling. He smashed six fours but needed to stay at the wicket for the late surge Bangladesh needed desperately.

England found themselves in the driver’s seat when Ben Stokes had Shakib Al Hasan caught behind down the leg side in the 28th over.

Shakib tried to flick the ball going down leg, but only managed to get glove it to keeper Buttler. Tigers allrounder struggled for his runs today, faced 14 balls to score three.

Bangladesh need a big partnership badly…

After a 50-run stand for the third wicket, Bangladesh were rocked in the 22nd over when the short-ball got its third victim of the match…Mushfiqur Rahim for 21.

Mushy top-edged his pull and Moeen took a superb tumbling catch running in from fine-leg. Tigers wicketkeeper-batsman faced 23 balls and struck three fours in his knock.

England strike at the opportune moment when a partnership was looking threatening…Tigers in a spot of bother indeed!

When Bangladesh lost their third wicket that of Sabbir Rahman in the 14 over, the cat was among the pigeons as far as the hosts were concerned.

Sabbir played 21 balls, scored three and his misery at the middle was cut short by Jake Ball. The England pacer got one to bounce more than expected, Sabbir managed a bottom edge only to see his stumps disturbed.

England applying the pressure with the ball and in the field…Tigers need to fight back!

Tigers were rocked in the ninth over, when they lost Tamim Iqbal against the run of play. Woakes planned out the dismissal as his short ball did the trick.

Tamim couldn’t keep the ball down and picked out Moeen Ali at midwicket. The southpaw from Chittagong scored 14 from 31 balls.

Tigers tottering after Woakes strikes…

England were rewarded for their disciplined bowling when Chris Woakes struck in the 7th over with only 25 runs on the board.

Bangladesh lost their in-form opener Imrul Kayes for 11 as the batsman failed to keep his pull shot down only to find the fielder at deep square-leg. Imrul played the shortish ball positively but could not roll his wrists over to keep the ball on the ground.

Bangladesh opening batters Imrul Kayes and Tamim Iqbal were kept quiet by the English bowlers as they found the loose deliveries hard to come by.

Both David Willey and Chris Woakes bowled a tight line around off stump, and mixed the cutters to keep the batsmen on their toes.

England skipper Jos Buttler opted to field first against Bangladesh led by Mashrafe Mortaza in the 2nd game of the 3-match ODI series at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

The first match of the ODI series was a spectacular advertisement for 50-over cricket. Both sides impressed with their recovery acts, dominated certain phases of the match but Bangladesh experienced a dramatic collapse only to leave their fans exasperated in the end.

Considering how the Tigers fell at the last hurdle, fans can expect another dramatic encounter in the second game given how they will be desperate to level the 3-match series.

In the nail-biting clash on October 7, Jos Buttler-led England looked set to hurtle towards their third successive defeat against Bangladesh. Tigers were well-placed at 271 for 4, in a chase of 310. The visitors combined resolve and single-mindedness to pick up the remaining six wickets for just 17 runs and stage a remarkable come-from-behind win.

The visitors though, will be fretting over Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow’s injuries. Roy hurt his shoulder while trying to prevent a boundary in the 37th over, while Bairstow suffered a hip injury. It has to be noted that Liam Plunkett is already down with a toe-injury.

For Bangladesh, Nasir Hossain will get to play today. Mosharraf Hossain was left out of the playing eleven while Soumya Sarkar may have to wait to get back into the team considering the form Imrul Kayes has been enjoying.

Mirpur offered a typically slow batting pitch for the first game, and it is unlikely the next pitch used will be any different. Rain also remains in the weather forecast, particularly late in the afternoon.

Teams

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim(Wicketkeeper), Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Mashrafe Mortaza(Captain), Shafiul Islam and Taskin Ahmed

England: Jason Roy, James Vince, Ben Duckett, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (Captain, Wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Jake Ball and Adil Rashid