Wounded England come roaring back to tame Bangla Tigers and clinch series
An enterprising innings from skipper Andrew Strauss, followed by a clinical bowling performance, ensured that England collected the silverware and also retained their dominance over Bangladesh as they humble the Asian minnows by 144 runs.
After being put into bat by the visitors
on a green top and an overcast conditions, England suffered early
setback when Kieswetter departed for a duck but skipper Andrew Strauss
and Jonathan Trott joined forces and knitted a record 250-run stand for
the second wicket. The duo were not too inclined towards taking any
unnecessary risk as they piled on the runs easily. England scored 45
runs in the Quick Start Overs followed by 20/0 in the Bowling Power
Play. Andrew Strauss was the top scorer with 154 from just 140 balls
which included five towering sixes and 16 exquisitely timed boundaries,
reaching his 4th ODI ton, his 2nd score over 150 and the highest ODI
score by an England captain, finishing with a Batting Momentum of 231.
Jonathan Trott also stroked his maiden ODI hundred and supported his
skipper equally well. A late cameo of 45 runs off just 16 balls from
Ravi Bopara, which included two fours and 4 massive sixes helped England
to bludgeon 104 runs in the Extreme Performance Overs for the loss of
six wickets. Mashrafe Mortaza bowled exceptionally well by conceding
just 31 runs in his 10 overs with two maidens and picked up three
wickets, earning a Bowling Efficiency of 290.
Chasing 348 for a win was always a tough ask for the visitors, and it
became tougher when they lost both the openers cheaply. There was no
substantial partnership for any wicket, the highest being 56-run stand
for the eighth wicket between Mahmudullah and Abdur Razzak which was
never going to be enough to chase down the monumental target. Bangladesh
managed to score 59 runs in the Quick Start Overs for the loss of two
wickets followed by 17/1 in the Bowling Power Play. They were pegged
down with regular fall of wickets and were barely a shadow of the team
that had outplayed the English side in the last match. Ravi Bopara
earned the best Bowling Efficiency of 316 as he took 4 wickets for 38 in
his 10 overs.
Without any doubt, England completely overwhelmed Bangladesh with an
overall Castrol Index of 219 in comparison to Bangladesh’s 112. Andrew
Strauss bagged the Man-of-the-Match award for his fabulous innings,
earning him an Overall Castrol Index of 283 and also the
Man-of-the-Series award for his consistent performance throughout the
series, scoring 237 runs and fetching an Overall Castrol Index of 121.
England will have a short break now while Bangladesh will once again
gear up to face Ireland in 2-match ODI series starting at Belfast on
Tuesday, the 15th of July, 2010.
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