20-20 World Cup: England beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets to make it two in two
England picked up their second consecutive win of the 20-20 World Cup as they crushed Bangladesh by 8 wickets. Carrying on from where they left against West Indies in the first game, England bowlers breathed fire once again and restricted Bangladesh batters to a paltry 124.
Moeen Ali started the proceedings for England and immediately pegged back Bangladesh by two quick wickets. A lot was expected of Shakib Al Hasan but the ace batter was outclassed by Chris Woakes. While Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim tried to stabilize the innings, the England bowlers were too hot to handle. Both players could not break free and lost their wickets in an attempt to score briskly. Along with Moeen Ali, Tymal Mills also bowled well and picked up three wickets. Chris Woakes was very economical and gave just 12 runs in his quota of overs.
Chasing a modest total, England didn’t break a sweat as Jason Roy stroked a blistering 61 off 38 balls to seal the game. Dawid Malan too got some valuable game time and scored 28 off 25 balls. The win has pushed England to the top of the table with their net run-rate soaring to 3.614.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh are staring at an early exit from the tournament. The team also lost to Sri Lanka in the first game thus need to register wins in their remaining three games to stay alive in the competition. Even that would not guarantee a semi-final berth for them.
Here is what the skippers said after the match:
Eoin Morgan: The bowlers have been very disciplined and have adapted well. The fielding has been good as well and has backed the bowling as well. It is a huge compliment the way our white ball cricket has come up. We have had players fighting for places. It is crucial for Roy and Dawid to get some time on the wicket. It is great to see him like this.
Mahmudullah: We were very disappointed the way we batted. We didn’t start well and we didn’t get any partnersips. If we get a good start, we can capitalize. It gets difficult on a wicket like this if we don’t get a good start. We have more skillful hitters than power-hitters. I think we need to reassess a few things in batting.
