Dawid Malan hit a century as England bounced back to secure a 137-run victory over Bangladesh in the second Cricket World Cup encounter in Dharamsala on Tuesday.
Dawid Malan’s outstanding 140 from 107 balls helped England’s 364-9 score significantly better than their humiliating nine-wicket loss to New Zealand the previous week.
Malan and Joe Root, who scored an expertly composed 82 from 68 balls and added 115 runs for the first wicket together, added 151 runs from just 117 balls.
In the 38th over, Root and Malan raised the score to 266-1, but England was unable to fully capitalise due to the eight wickets lost for 96 runs.
However, despite Moeen Ali’s replacement, seamer Reece Topley, who bowled a strong new-ball spell, their score still turned out to be more than enough.
In the second over, he took two wickets in as many balls, and in the sixth, he dismissed Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan for one run.
Despite Mushfiqur Rahim’s 51 and Liton Das’ 76, the necessary run-rate was constantly rising.
After Topley returned to dismiss Mushfiqur, who had amassed figures of 4-43, Bangladesh was eventually bowled out for 227 runs in 48.2 overs.
The victory gives England more momentum and confidence as they travel to Delhi to play Afghanistan on Sunday.
Perhaps most importantly, their net run-rate is also considerably increased.
As they began their World Cup defence with a worrisome thrashing by the Black Caps, England struggled to a 282-9 victory in their opening match of the tournament.
Malan edged to a 24-ball 14 in Ahmedabad, but at one of the world’s most picturesque grounds in the foothills of the Himalayas, he displayed an exceptional blend of power and placement to score his first World Cup century.
The first stand calmed English anxiety. Mustafizur Rahman was flicked over deep square-leg by Malan to score six right away.
Then, he drove anything that was too full, clubbed the Bangladeshi bowlers when they frequently dropped short, and in 91 balls, he had reached his century.
Bairstow was dismissed for 52 after returning to a quicker ball from Shakib, but Root continued to play in his usual aggressive manner after reaching 40 without incident. He then passed Graham Gooch’s record of 897 runs to become England’s all-time leading World Cup run-scorer.
The two threatened England’s 397-run World Cup record, but after Malan was dismissed while attempting to heave spinner Mahedi Hasan, Bangladesh’s middle order failed as a result of better fielding and pace mixing.
In order to leave for 82 runs, Buttler, who moved up to number four, dragged on for 20 runs. Root then skied a catch to Mushfiqur, Liam Livingstone was bowled by Shoriful Islam, and Harry Brook was picked out long-on while still on 20 runs.
This was England looking more like their fearless selves, even though it wasn’t perfect.
When it came to defending on the contentious Dharamsala outfield, which was comprised of bare, sandy patches, England’s high total gave them breathing room.
Fielders from both sides stood out for their propensity to avoid dives and slides.
Topley was hired because the location, which is nearly 1,500 metres above sea level, is favourable for pace bowling. Before the dangerous Najmul Hossain Shanto drove loosely to point a ball later, he used movement to catch the edge of Tanzid Hasan’s bat and give Buttler a straightforward catch.
Shakib tried to defend himself but was bowled by a gorgeous delivery from Topley that nipped in and clipped the bails.
Topley impressed, but his opening-ball partner Woakes struggled, just as he had against New Zealand.
His first four overs had a cost of 34, but in his fourth over, he found Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s edge before coming back to take a thin edge from Das in his second spell.
The left-armer had Mushfiqur caught on the boundary after slicing an edge to deep third as he attempted to extend the game by running ones and twos.
Mahedi was dropped by the Surrey quick off Adil Rashid at mid-on, but that only served to delay the inevitable as Bangladesh limped along to protect their net run rate.
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