After a dramatic 21-run loss from a position of strength, Bangladesh will face visiting England in the 2nd match of their three-match ODI series at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur today (Sunday).
A win in the 2nd match is a must for Bangladesh to keep their hopes alive of a 7th successive ODI series victory on home soil, which would be their first against England.The visitors will take the ground to seal the series as they have advantages of 1-0 lead.
This will be the 18th ODI battle between the two nations where the English giant ahead with 14 wins replying Bangladesh’s three, since their 1st meeting at Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi, Kenya in 2000.
It was a heartbreaking night for Bangladesh fans, who turned up at stadium in Mirpur on Friday to watch their heroes take on England in the first ODI.
The hosts were chasing 310, and lost its last six wickets for just 17 runs to be dismissed at 288/10 in 47.5 overs, after Imrul Kayes (112) and Shakib Al Hasan (79) had taken them tantalisingly close to what would have been an excellent win.
“Reviewing the dismissals again will show that the batsmen had clearly panicked. We could have been more composed as 10-12 dot balls would have been no problem. We got out like that for being hasty in the chase,” was Mashrafe Mortaza’s assessment after the Friday loss.
Bangladesh has had a remarkable record in the 50-over format over the past two years, especially when playing at home. It last lost an ODI series at home in August 2014 in the West Indies and has since beaten Zimbabwe (5-0 and 3-0), India (2-1), Pakistan (3-0), South Africa (2-1) and Afghanistan (2-1).
England, without regular captain Eoin Morgan, must be happy with its first performance in testing conditions on Bangladeshi soil. Now, it will want to press home the advantage, but shouldn’t expect Bangladesh to implode again.
While Soumya Sarkar will have a hard time returning to the XI because Imrul’s hundred has blocked his path, there is now a stronger argument for Nasir Hossain and Al-Amin Hossain. They could take the places of Mosaddek Hossain and Mosharraf Hossain, the latter also injured his hand in the last game.
Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow are injury concerns so that might leave a tricky situation for England who would have preferred to go into the second game with the winning combination. Sam Billings, who was a substitute fielder on Friday, and Liam Dawson will be on high alert to break into the XI.
The pitch for the second match is expected to be similar to the first one –great for batting — and weather-wise, black clouds are expected to hover over Mirpur for the next three days, with chances of rain, which thankfully kept away during the game on Friday.
