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Bangladesh 124/9
England 126/2
Bangladesh was overwhelmed in the opening exchanges of the contest before being dispatched in a low-key run chase for an uncompetitive eight-wicket scoreline, as England continued their imposing start to the T20 World Cup with a second power play-inspired victory of the competition.
Mahmudullah won the toss and batted first on what he described as a belter, but his team ran aground on Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes, who bowled unchanged through the powerplay for a game-breaking combined analysis of 3 for 27. Moeen’s incredible start to the tournament continues. He has now bowled all seven of his overs straight off the reel at the start of his two innings, in a format where familiarity breeds hate. Liton Das attempted to drive him off his length with consecutive fours down the ground, but he scuffed a third such blow to deep-midwicket, departing for 9 from 8 balls before his fellow opener Mohammad Naim was out for 9 from 8 balls after a wild swipe one ball later.
Woakes slapped a two-paced deck with a proud seam and tight line on the other end, and when he removed Shakib Al Hasan’s precious scalp, there was little Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim could do to change the narrative.
Morgan’s permutations in the middle overs were modified by Moeen’s effect at the start of England’s innings, particularly as it became clear that the extra pace of Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills was offering a glimmer of a way back into the match for Bangladesh. Mills’ physical intimidation, combined with the nuance of his variety of variations, makes for a lethal combination. Morgan switched to Liam Livingstone’s variations after giving 12 and 11 runs respectively in their initial excursions. Livingstone skidded his third ball past Mushfiqur’s attempted reverse-sweep and extracted a critical breakthrough on review.
The lone blemish on England’s record against the West Indies was a little snafu when attempting to chase down their 56-run goal. They didn’t make the same mistakes this time. Jason Roy scored 61 off 38 balls in his 50th T20I appearance, with five fours and three sixes, including a stunning straight shot off Nasum to bring up his half-century. He and Jos Buttler put an end to any thoughts of a plot twist by adding 39 for the opening wicket in 28 balls of the powerplay.
With 35 balls remaining, Jonny Bairstow secured the deal with a four through midwicket. In these early exchanges, the World No. 1 T20I team seemed to be threatening.