England looked fortified by their Himalayan break on Tuesday, bouncing back from a depressing defeat to New Zealand, to despatch Bangladesh by a margin of 137 runs in Dharamshala.
In hindsight, England were conspicuously superior and the match a little one-sided, with Bangladesh’s batting intimidated by the steepling bounce achieved by the very tall Reece Topley, who had replaced Moeen Ali’s off spin.
But make no mistake, Bangladesh are a more than decent team who, on their day, can beat any international side. They surprised England in the 2015 World Cup and pipped India as recently as last month. With pressure on England, the Dharmshala match had the potential for a shock defeat. England have done well to come through unscathed, including without injuries; the latter was a concern given the sandy outfield.
England’s innings was built on the 140 runs of Dawid Malan, the left-handed opener striking the ball with immense power, particularly square on the legside. Bowlers in future matches will no doubt look to move the ball away from his off stump.
Jonny Bairstow received his hundredth ODI cap and scored another accomplished 50 – his third in world cups, to back up two hundreds – before being bowled by captain and left-arm finger spinner Shakib, the ball fizzing through with the arm to hit leg stump, instead of straightening.
Joe Root batted well once again, but England may be moderately concerned by the mini collapse that occurred through the third powerplay. Jos Buttler played onto his stumps with an ungainly hoik before Root – who had look so composed for his 82 – played a slightly lazy flick that went straight up in the air. England lost six wickets for less than 90 runs between the 38th and 49th overs, leaving them with a formidable but not unreachable 364 for 9.
As it turned out, Bangladesh’s batting was undone by three early wickets from the left-arm pace of Reece Topley, who visibly unnerved the Bangladesh top order, garnering both swing and bounce off the pitch. That put Bangladesh well behind the required run rate. Despite a classy 76 from opener Litton Das and a neat half century by wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh never really seemed in the game.
England will be confident and more upbeat
So, positive signs for England as they head back down to the northern plains for Sunday’s fixture with Afghanistan in Delhi. There is more to come from the batting department, with Ben Stokes hoping to return and Buttler, Livingstone, and Brook yet to fully fire. Reece Topley taking the new ball leaves some questions around Sam Curran’s role. Curran was the most expensive of England’s bowlers and will struggle to exact swing from the white ball unless he gets first dibs.
The weather has been splendid in Delhi for the past week and that looks set to continue through the weekend. With temperatures hovering around 30 degrees, clear blue skies belie the fact that Delhi has become one of the most polluted cities in the world. The results that the government of India has achieved in controlling pollution for the recent G20 summit and for this World Cup shows what can be done with some concerted effort.
The last time the World Cup was held in India in 2011, there was talk of Delhi’s Feroz Kotla being banned from the tournament on account of the re-laid pitch being too dangerous for play. A decade or more on, the pitch is more reliable, heavily used in the IPL and offering something for both batters and bowlers. Spectators will also enjoy a traditional stadium experience, amidst the ruins of old Mughal Delhi. With a capacity of around 45,000 when full, the Feroz Kotla has a buzzing atmosphere and offers spectacular views of the playing area, particularly from the northern stands.
England will be confident and more upbeat than they were when they left Ahmedabad, but mindful that, just like Bangladesh, Afghanistan – beaten easily by India at the same ground on Wednesday – do have players that could help them spring an unlikely victory.
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