The third wicket stand was also frustrating for the hosts with Jonny Bairstow and Duckett putting on 45.
Bangladesh received some hope after both Bairstow and Duckett were dismissed in the span of two overs. Bairstow went down the track against Shafiul and tried to heave him out of the ground. He instead missed the line completely and got bowled. A brilliant catch from wicketkeeper Mushfiqur, who anticipated Duckett’s scoop and dived towards his right, led to the second wicket.
A 48-run stand followed next between the experienced Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes. The duo tore apart Bangladesh’s ace bowler Shakib Al Hasan and looked threatening.
They could have won the game with ease by just merely taking the singles. However, Buttler who had raced to 25 off 25, attempted to pull a good length delivery from Mashrafe in the 41st over. In the process, he inside-edged onto the stumps.
Two overs later, Mashrafe bowled a slower and Moeen Ali provided the simplest of catches to mid-on.
All of a sudden, the visitors were in a bit of trouble at 236 for six. The run-rate went over six for a brief period and England needed 30 off five overs. A good over from Shafiul brought that down to 27 off 24. In the next over, Woakes was dropped by Imrul Kayes at first slip off Taskin in the fourth ball of the 47th over. Taskin was driven for a four in the last ball of that over and that effectively ended Bangladesh’s hopes.
Ben Stokes, who remained calm throughout the nervy period scored an unbeaten 47. Woakes ended the game in style by smacking Shafiul for a six down the ground in the 48th over.
Earlier, while the hosts managed to defy England’s pacers with ease, it was a slightly different scenario against the spinners. Openers Imrul and Tamim Iqbal put on 80 runs, Bangladesh’s highest opening stand against England, beating the pair’s previous best, 63, scored in 2010. However, Imrul was caught for 46 in the 19th over and Tamim, who became the first Bangladeshi to score 5000 ODI runs during the game, was deceived by a googly from Rashid and was sent back to the pavilion for 45.
Sabbir Rahman played a good knock, 46 off 49, but he too was deceived by a turner from Rashid and was caught behind. Bangladesh’s middle order crumbled and they were suddenly struggling at 192 for six in 38.1 overs.
That is when Mushfiqur Rahim and Mosaddek Hossain got together and put on 85 runs in 11.5 overs to help the hosts cross the 270-mark.
While Mushfiqur hit four fours and one six during his 62-ball 67, Mosaddek hit a number of boundaries through backward point to score 38 off 39.
Source: The Daily Star
