Published: Oct 12, 2016, 10:24 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 13, 2016, 12:03 AM (IST)
England came out fighting in the third and the final One-Day International (ODI) of the three-match series and won it by four wickets and 13 balls to spare. With this win, they also sealed the series and have done a commendable job without the services of some of their established players. England have fared well and Jos Buttler marshaled his troops well with example. This game was a virtual final and the pressure was immense on the visitors to excel after the post-match drama during the second game. England team did a collective job in emerging victorious, which will further boost their confidence for the upcoming Test series. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Bangladesh vs England, 3rd ODI at Mirpur
England won the toss and elected to field first on a surface, which initially looked good for batting. Bangladesh got off to a good start with both their openers getting good starts with the new ball. Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes got decent starts but none managed to convert it into a big score. England seamers bowled a tight line but were unable to chip early wickets. Ben stokes picked the first wicket in the form of Kayes after which Adil Rashid got the better of Tamim Iqbal. Adil Rashid bowled beautifully and accounted for three Bangladeshi wickets. In the course, he also became picked his 50th ODI wicket.
Rashid outfoxed Mahmudullah and removed Sabbir Rahman to record his 50th ODI scalp. It was a beautiful display of spin bowling from Rashid as he broke he spine of Bangladeshi batting with his wily spin. Moeen Ali dismissed the in form Shakib Al Hasan and added more pressure on the hosts. Mushfiqur Rahim came to Bangladesh’s rescue and played a memorable innings to bail his team out of crisis. Mosaddek Hossain supported him well at the other end and kept scoring runs at a brisk rate.
Mushfiqur played few innovative shots and put pressure on the English bowlers. He batted exceptionally in the death overs along with Mosaddek to help his side post a decent total of 277 in 50 overs on the board. English bowlers didn’t have a great day in the field barring Adil Rashid, who had four wickets to his name. Chasing 278 was never going to be an easy task as Bangladesh had enough ammunition in their bowling to restrict the visitors.
Sam Billings and James Vince started the proceedings for England and did a decent job in getting his team off to a good start. Vince played well but looked bereft of oomph against the spinners as a result of which he floundered after a good start. He was dismissed by Nasir Hossain for 31, as a top-spinner from the bowler caught him leg before. Billings played with immense confidence against the pumped Bangladeshi spinners. He played his shots and made use of sweep shots. Ben Duckett and Billing stitched a crucial partnership. Billings went on to score 63 while Duckett also scored his half-century.
Billings was finally dismissed by Mosaddek as he top-edged one into the hands of Imrul Kayes at deep square leg. Duckett played well but Jonny Bairstow couldn’t make impact as he was dismissed by Shafiul Islam for 15. Ben Stokes joined Duckett but the latter was dismissed by Islam moments later. Stokes was accompanied by skipper Ben Stokes who played a good hand but was unfortunate to be dismissed for 25. Moeen Ali was expected to get some valuable runs but failed to do so as he was removed for 1 by Mashrafe Mortaza.
Chris Woakes walked in and looked comfortable out in the middle right from the outset. He got the scoreboard ticking from ball 1 and eased off the pressure from Stokes’ shoulders. Woakes success as an all-rounder is a huge bonus for England as he brings a lot of value to the side. At one stage, the game was evenly poised but bot the batsmen shifted gears in not time and played some elegant shots to carry their team over the line. Woakes smashed couple of sixes and also finished off the game with a bang. It was a beautiful display of some class batting from Woakes. England won the game and a lot of credit goes to Stokes and Woakes as at one stage, Bangladesh were pulling things back with some consistent bowling. There was some dew on the surface, which helped the seamers but the spinners struggled to drip the ball.
Not many Bangladeshi bowlers enjoyed success as Mortaza had two wickets to his name and so did Islam. Nasir Hossain and Mosaddek also had one wicket each to their name but it wasn’t enough to contain the star studded English line up.
Brief Scores:
Bangladesh 277/6 in 50 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 67, Sabbir Rahman 49; Adil Rashid 4 for 43, Ben Stokes 1 for 24) lost to England (Sam Billings 62, Ben Duckett 63; Mashrafe Mortaza 2 for 51, Shafiul Islam 2 for 61) by four wickets.
