Roy stars as England thump Tigers
A fifty from opener Jason Roy and an overall dominant batting display helped England romp to an eight-wicket victory over Bangladesh in their second Super 12 stage encounter in Abu Dhabi today.
Roy's explosive 61-run knock saw England chase down Bangladesh's modest 124 for nine with 35 balls and eight wickets to spare at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Chasing a modest total, England got off to a brisk start with openers Roy and Jos Buttler stitching together a 39-run opening stand before the latter fell to left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed in the fifth over after a run-a-ball 18. That, however, in no way slowed down the English batters, especially Roy who had played fluently before giving a catch to Nasum in the 13th over off the bowling of pacer Shoriful Islam.
With five fours and three maximums in his 38-ball knock, Roy had already set the tone for a thumping win for England, who met the Tigers for the first time in the format.
Jonny Bairstow (8 off 4) and Dawid Malan (28 off 25) remained unbeaten till the end to see England cruise to their second victory in the tournament.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, lost both their Super 12s clash so far and now see themselves in a tough spot considering a chance to make it to their maiden semifinal of the marquee event.
Earlier, after electing to bat, Bangladesh batters suffered a collapse, with a 37-run fourth-wicket stand between skipper Mahmudullah Riyad and Mushfiqur Rahim remaining the highest in a game the Tigers lost wickets at regular intervals.
Mushfiqur, who had ended his lean patch with the bat with an unbeaten fifty in the Tigers' previous game against Sri Lanka, was also the top scorer for the Tigers today. He scored 29 off 30 deliveries, featuring three boundaries.
England kept things tight throughout as they bowled a total of 52 dots. And had it not been for Nasum's two sixes and a four in leg-spinner Adil Rashid's penultimate over, Bangladesh might have had to stay content with even a lower total.
Nausm gives breakthrough after England's brisk start
Bangladesh' left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed struck in his first over to break a growing partnership after openers Jason Roy and Jos Buttler provided England with a brisk start in their chase of a modest total in the two sides' second Super 12 stage encounter in the ongoing T20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi today.
It was a short and flat delivery from Nasum and Buttler, who tried to loft it over extra cover, failed to make a decent connection as Mohammad Naim completed a regulation catch. The wicket ended a 39-run opening stand between Roy and Buttler.
Buttler, who departed after a run-a-ball 18, was the only one to fall in the powerplay as England scored 50 for one after six overs.
However, Roy had started with a four off the backfoot in the very first delivery of Shakib Al Hasan, who opened the innings for the Tigers with the ball.
Since then, England batters hardly looked to be in trouble, barring that one instance when Mustafizur Rahman induced an inside edge off the bat of Roy but unfortunately, it missed the stumps and went for a four in the short fine leg region.
Bangladesh posted a modest 124 for nine in the first innings.