England v Bangladesh: Key Plays
England 308/2 defeated Bangladesh 305/6 by 8 wickets
SHOCK OF THE DAY
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid has been almost an automatic selection in England’s XI since the end of the ICC World Cup in 2015, so it caused a stir when at the toss Eoin Morgan announced that Rashid would be wearing a high-vis bib for the tournament opener.
His replacement was Jake Ball, with the six-foot-five quick taking his place in a four-man seam attack alongside Chris Woakes – who went off the field with a side strain after just two overs – Mark Wood, Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes. Woakes was subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the tournament.
SPICE OF THE DAY
With Tamim Iqbal playing freely on a batsman-friendly surface in what became a 166-run partnership with Mushfiqur Rahim, Ben Stokes came into the attack determined to make something happen. The fiery England man got into an extended ‘conversation’ with Tamim as the pair rekindled the spark that had developed during the ODIs in Bangladesh last October.
Stokes has a chat with Tamim
MAN OF THE DAY – BANGLADESH: TAMIM IQBAL
Unperturbed by his coming together with Stokes, Tamim stroked his way to a dashing century from 124 balls, having been watchful against the new ball and Mark Wood’s pace. The capacity Oval crowd – many of them Bangladesh fans – produced a terrific atmosphere all day and the roar that greeted Tamim’s ton was the loudest of all. The hard-hitting left-hander ended with 128 from 142 balls.
CENTURY: Tamim Iqbal brings up his 100
MAN OF THE DAY – ENGLAND: JOE ROOT
It has to be Joe Root. Coming in at 6/1 and then putting on 159 with Hales and then 143 with Morgan – who made an unbeaten 75 – he made batting look easy against all types of bowling and scarcely gave a chance on his way to a career-best 133 not out, combining supreme timing with immaculate judgement and a cool temperament.
CENTURY: Joe Root dazzles with an unbeaten 133
SHOT OF THE DAY
Take a bow, Mushfiqur Rahim, for the first of two consecutive fours in the 44th over of the Bangladesh innings. Faced with a rare full, straight delivery from Ball, he shuffled inside the line, deftly turned the bat face and calmly lifted the ball almost over the keeper’s head for a one-bounce four.
SUPER SHOTS: Bangladesh Innings super shots
MOMENT OF THE DAY
With Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza smartly calling for Shakib-al-Hasan to open the bowling in England’s reply, the left-arm spinner had built pressure on Alex Hales with three dot balls, who tried to hit the fourth one over the top and, mis-hitting, could only spoon it just over cover’s head. Had the ball gone to hand, Mortaza’s plan would have come off and Bangladesh would have had England on the ropes early on. As it was, Hales led the way in England’s chase to put the hosts in charge of the game and ease any earlier anxiety, holing out to deep mid-wicket just five short of what would have been a dominant century. It all could have been so different…
#CT17: Match Hero - Alex Hales
INJURY REPORT
England has injury concerns after its first outing of the tournament. With Woakes’ participation in the tournament now over, there was also a scare when star No. 3 batsman Joe Root began hobbling between the wickets during his match-winning innings after feeling tightness in his calf. Clearly it didn’t seem to do him too much harm, and he is confident that he will not need to miss any matches as the tournament runs on.