Bangladesh have stormed into the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time, knocking England out to pull off the greatest feat in their cricketing history. The Tigers’ bowlers hunted the Englishmen down in packs to leave them 260 all out in 48.3 overs at Adelaide Oval on Monday. Mahmudullah Riyad earlier scored his nation’s first ever World Cup century to take them to a fighting 275 for 7. His 103 set the tone while Mushfiqur Rahim’s 89 and Soumya Sarkar’s 40 made their they gave the bowlers a competitive total to defend. Bangladesh’s win in the tight clash took Sri Lanka to the last eight alongside Australia and New Zealand from Pool A. Pacer Rubel Hossain (4/53) struck twice in an two overs to help the Tigers bundle England out. Bangladesh qualified for the last eight of the 2007 World Cup but it was a round-robin stage. The game tilted both ways till the a nerve-jiggling final overs saw England’s embarrassing elimination. England started the chase in decent fashion but Moeen Ali, adjudged leg before on 11 but the decision being overturned by a review, ran himself out in a disastrous fashion. Ian Bell (63) then paired with Alex Hales (27) for a 54-run stand to steady the chase. Mashrafe sent back Hales but it was Rubel’s double strike in the 27th over that turned the game on its head. Done in by extra bounce, Bell was caught behind while Eoin Morgan hooked to the deep fine leg boundary to Shakib Al Hasan who took a great catch. Morgan fell for his fifth duck in last 11 innings. England’s problems were compounded as James Taylor perished chasing a wide delivery and Joe Root fell for 29. But Jos Buttler (65) and Chris Woakes (42 not out) injected life into the chase with some lusty hitting. Rubel dismissed Stuart Broad and James Anderson in the 49th over to send the Tigers and the fans into spasm of ecstasy. After being reduced to 8 for 2 in the third over, Mahmudullah (103) led the fightback, adding 86 runs with Sarkar and then 141 with Mushfiq. He struggled to find the middle of the bat in the start, but grew in confidence smashing seven boundaries and two sixes for his maiden ODI ton off 138 balls. The Bangladeshi trio strengthened Bangladesh’s platform sensibly rotating the strike and mixed aggression with caution in the recovery stand. England, however, struck back picking up two more quick wickets to put Bangladesh on the back foot again. After losing Sarkar and Shakib (2) in quick successions, Mushfiq settled in quickly and brought up the 200 in the 41st over. Mahmudullah scurried a single off Stuart Broad to bring up the century and embarked on an emotional celebration with Mushfiq. He, however, went back shortly after leaving it to Mushfiq whose 77-ball innings was laced with eight boundaries and a six.–bdnews24.com
