Mashrafee bin Murtaza brought his all-round skill into play to hit 44 off 29 and pick 4-29, leading Bangladesh to a pulsating 34-run win over England in the second one-day international in Dhaka on Sunday.
The win kept Bangladesh on track for their seven successive series victories, setting up Wednesday’s third match in Chittagong as series decider with both teams currently locked 1-1.
Bangladesh needed something special from someone to lift the side after a morale-shattering 21-run loss in the first match and the skipper himself rose to the occasion, surprisingly with the bat first and then as usually with the ball.
His late cameo, which included two fours and three sixes, catapulted Bangladesh to 238-8, a score which at one stage looked a distinct possibility after the hosts’ top-order failed to develop any significant partnership.
Mahmudullah led Bangladesh’s stop-start batting with a fabulously struck 75 off 88 balls, but it seemed awfully inadequate until Mashrafee provided the late impetus.
Mashrafee found a worthy partner in Nasir Hossain, who justified his inclusion for Mosharraf Hossain after public outcry with an unbeaten 27 and later with a crucial wicket bowling 10 oves at a stretch.
The duo shared 69 runs in eighth wicket, which fell one short of record set up by Khaled Mashud and Mohammad Rafique against New Zealand at Kimberley in 2003.
With England having a long tail, this still looked too small an effort initially until Mashrafee provided some early blows in his opening spell to leave England tottering at 26-3.
England could never recover from the position despite the best effort from skipper Jos Buttler, who scored run-a-ball 57, the only half-century in their innings.
Taskin Ahmed repaid the Bangladesh Cricket Board whatever the amount it spent for Decision Review System as he took the advantage of review to have Buttler out leg-before, a dismissal that effectively threw England out of the contest.
Bangladeshi umpire Sharfuddoula Saikat had initially turned down his appeal, prompting Mashrafee to ask for a review, which decisively indicated that the ball hit England skipper plumb in his back foot.
Taskin had earlier removed Jonny Bairstow for 35 to end his 79-run fifth wicket partnership with Buttler when the duo was attempting to revive England innings after initial damage with some counterpunch.
Both Buttler and Bairstow looked very threatening hitting some lusty blows to silence the crowd momentarily.
When Buttler smashed Taskin three fours in one over, it appeared that match was slipping out of hosts’ grip but the bowler came back strongly to finish with 3-37, playing a big hand in the win.
Bangladesh’s victory, however, was not ensured until Mashrafee took the ball in his third spell to remove last man Jake Ball, who swung his bat wildly to take England surprisingly close to the target.
In the last wicket partnership, Ball (28) and Adil Rashid (33 not out) put 45 runs to raise some tension in Bangladesh’s dressing until Mashrafee came to their rescue once again.
Nasir fittingly took the last catch at square leg as Bangladesh completed their fourth win over England to go Chittagong taking the momentum firmly with them.
Source: New Age
