England defeats Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup for the second time in Super 12s
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England’s flawless start to the Men’s T20 World Cup continues with an eight-wicket victory over Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi.
After bowling the West Indies out for 55 in their first match, England restricted Bangladesh to 124-9 in their second match. In the third over, Moeen Ali grabbed two wickets in two balls, Tymal Mills 3-27, and Liam Livingstone 2-15, with Adil Rashid taking a stunning diving catch and a run-out.
England sped to their target with 35 balls to spare thanks to Jason Roy’s 61 off 38 balls and Dawid Malan’s measured 28 not out. After two games in the Super 12s, Eoin Morgan’s side leads Group 1.
Their next match comes on Saturday at 15:00 BST in Dubai versus Australia.
It wasn’t quite as destructive or eye-catching as England’s six-wicket victory over the West Indies, but it was close.
Bangladesh, who advanced to the Super 12 after advancing through the first round of the tournament, has the players, notably their spinners, to cause difficulties for larger teams. England easily pushed them aside. It was another victory based on powerful bowling, which is encouraging for England’s chances given that bowling is supposedly their weaker game.
With the new ball in hand, off-spinner Moeen replied by dismissing openers Liton Das and Mohammad Naim with consecutive deliveries as both miscued ambitious drives.
Chris Woakes took the crucial wicket of Shakib Al Hasan, diving to take the ball dropping over his shoulder at short fine leg. Woakes finished with an excellent 1-12 from four overs.
Bangladesh were 26-3 in the sixth over, and England continued to take regular wickets from there, thanks to captain Eoin Morgan’s clever playing.
Mustafizur Rahim, who made 29, was lbw on review in his first over by part-time spinner Liam Livingstone, who also bowled skipper Mahmudullah for a sluggish 19 from 24 balls. With his mix of pace and slower balls, Tymal Mills grabbed three lower-order wickets, including two in the final two deliveries of the innings.