Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim power Bangladesh to 305 for 6 against England in ICC Champions Trophy 2017, Match 1

Tamim's scintillating hundred and Mushfiqur’s sparkling half-century enabled Bangladesh to post 305 for 6 in 50 overs.

Tamim hit his 9th career hundred to propel Bangladesh to 305 in CT 2017 opener © AFP — Tamim hit his 9th career hundred in ODIs to propel Bangladesh to 305 in CT 2017 opener © AFP

On a sunny day and a good pitch which promised plenty of runs, England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to field first against Bangladesh in the ICC Champions Trophy opener at The Oval on Thursday. The hosts dropped leg-spinner Adil Rashid from their side and went with an all-seam attack including four pacers in addition to all-rounder Ben Stokes. Morgan’s decisions perhaps were influenced by Indian pacers’ routing of Bangladesh in the warm-up game. However, there was no repetition of Bangladesh’s shambolic 84-run effort, as Tamim Iqbal’s scintillating hundred and Mushfiqur Rahim’s sparkling half-century enabled them to post 305 for 6 in 50 overs. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD, ICC Champions Trophy 2017, England vs Bangladesh – Match 1

Bangladesh openers got them to a good start — in fact their best against England in England — putting up 56 runs on the board. Both Tamim and Soumya Sarkar were tentative to begin with, but grew in confidence as the game progressed. England were jolted early, as Chris Woakes was ruled out of the game, and possibly the tournament, after bowling just 2 overs.

Mark Wood and Jake Ball shared the duties then, as Bangladesh quietly went about building their innings. A few overs later, pacer Liam Plunkett also walked out of the field, giving Morgan a scare. With his pace options deteriorating, Morgan went to Stokes, England’s man with the golden arm. Stokes did not disappoint his captain, just as always, delivering the first breakthrough. He bowled a short ball outside off and Sarkar went for a risky shot, only to find the substitute fielder Jonny Bairstow’s safe hands at deep cover.

Imrul Kayes replaced him and added 39 runs with Tamim for the second wicket, before falling to a stunning catch by Wood off Plunkett, who returned to the field to boost the English attack. Here on, Tamim and Mushfiqur did not give away anything to the English bowlers. The pair frustrated English bowlers with a sturdy stand. Tamim, in the meantime, brought up his 37th One-Day International (ODI) fifty off 71 balls with a four towards backward square.

Over the next 25 overs, both these batsmen made good use of the friendly batting conditions and further consolidated Bangladesh’s position in the match. England, in their desperation for the next breakthrough, tried a few things which included asking Joe Root to bowl and sledging a well-set Tamim. Stokes had a go at the Bangladeshi opener in a bid to unsettle and force him to commit a mistake. But Tamim marched on, undeterred.

Mushfiqur was as almost as good as Tamim, if not better, in terms of strokeplay. He also played a few exquisite cover drives and straight drives which were pleasing to the eyes. He brought up his 25th ODI fifty off just 48 balls. Around the same time, pair’s hundred-run partnership, Bangladesh’s 200 and and Tamim’s 9th ODI hundred also came.

Once these milestones were reached, Bangladesh went for the kill. Tamim and Mushfiqur changed gears, collecting boundaries almost every over. They also brought up the biggest partnership for Bangladesh in ODIs outside Asia, going past the 141-run stand put up by Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah against the same opponent in the 2015 WC game at Adelaide.

Plunkett finally broke the 166-run stand, removing both Tamim and Mushfiqur off successive deliveries. While Tamim scored 128 off 142 (12x4s, 3x6s), Mushfiqur got 79 off 72 (8x4s). In the final 5 overs, Bangladesh lost a bit of momentum with Shakib Al Hasan and Sabbir Rahman departing early in their bid to add quick runs. This deprived Bangladesh of at least 15-20 runs, which could prove decisive in the end.

England bowlers were not quite up to the mark for the most part. Woakes was missed sorely, as others failed to contain runs and take wickets upfront. England’s death-overs bowling was considered as their Achilles’ Heel before the start of the tournament. Today, however, they did far better in the final overs, conceding just 43 runs in last 5 overs. Plunkett was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4 for 59, while Ball conceded 82 runs from his spell of 10 overs.

Brief scores: