Bangladesh will lock horns against England at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium on Tuesday. However, it’ll be a dead-rubber contest as the Men in Green secured their consecutive T20I win against the visitors on Sunday.
After losing the ODI series, the Bangla Tigers bounced back in the shortest format of the game and outplayed England in every department. Najmul Hossain Shanto was the player of the match in the first game, while Mehidy Hasan was Bangladesh’s outstanding player in the second game, which helped the hosts secure a historic series win against England.
What have they done so far?
England put up a total of 156 in the first game, which the hosts managed to overcome pretty comfortably. Jos Butler was the man of the match for the visitors, while Phil Salt played a decent cameo which helped England to put up a decent total on the board.
England was cruising to a big total, but Bangladeshi bowlers had other plans. The Bangla Tigers have been absolutely dominant at home and put up a similar display in the dying embers of the game. Every bowler managed to pick a wicket each, but Hasan Mahmud was the pick of the bowlers and got rid of Jos Butler and Sam Curran.
On the flip side, Bangladesh, despite having a slightly rocky start, managed to cross the finishing line, owing to the efforts of Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan and Towhid Hridoy. Following this more or less magnanimous victory, Bangladesh looked extremely confident and colorful in the second game as well. Bangladesh decided to bowl after winning the toss, yet again.
They looked in fabulous touch and it seemed like the English batsmen had no answer to their world-class bowling. While every Bangladeshi bowler was economical, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan and Hasan Mahmud picked a wicket each.
Shakib failed to make his mark on the scorecard in the second match
However, the pick of the bowlers was Mehidy Hasan who bagged four wickets in his spell of four overs and gave away just 12 runs. On the flip side, the English batters collapsed like a house of cards. England raced to 50 for the loss of one wicket, however, the wicket of Phil Salt was a catalyst for their downfall.
Butler, who was impressive in the previous game, posed a threat for this one as well. Sadly, things went differently. Dawid Malan, Butler, and Moeen Ali fell cheaply but Ben Duckett and Sam Curran provided some resistance and added 34 runs for the fifth wicket. However, England slipped from 91 for 4 to 100 for 7 in 17 balls and only managed 117 on the board.
Bangladesh didn’t have the smoothest chase as well. Curran removed Litton for yet another soft dismissal, caught at deep square leg. Rony Talukdar, in an attempt to put Archer away, fell for just nine runs.
However, Shanto and Hasan steadied the ship and helped Bangladesh get past the finishing line, which allowed them to claim a historic win against the visitors.
Head to Head record
The two teams featured in the shortest format of the game for the first time since the culmination of the T20 World Cup that took place last year.
The two cricketing behemoths have only ever faced off against one another twice. When they first met, England defeated the Tigers by eight wickets in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. The Bangla Tigers were limited to 124 runs in that game, which England overcame in 14.1 overs
Bangladesh’s game against Tuesday will be their fourth clash against one another, sadly, it’ll be a dead-rubber contest.
Key Players
Shakib-Al-Hasan (Bangladesh): Most of the victories the Bangla Tigers have had in recent years have been made possible by Shakib. In the recently finished ODI series, he represented Bangladesh as the player of the series, scoring 141 runs at an average of 47.00 across three games.
Shakib’s 75 runs for Bangladesh in their victory in the most recent ODI proved to be too much for the visitors, who failed to get going and lost the match by 50 runs. He contributed greatly with the ball as well, taking four wickets in ten overs.
Most significantly, he struck 34 runs and assisted Bangladesh in defeating the visitors in the first T20I.
He now serves as the Tigers’ starting lineup’s foundation. It’s safe to assume that the team will look to his knowledge and aptitude to lead them to victory in game two as well.
Jos Butler (England): Over the past few years, Butler has made a name for himself as a formidable opponent. He didn’t fare so well in the first ODI, but he recovered nicely for the series’ next two games.
Jos Butler would be looking to get England back to winning ways
As he did in the first T20I, Butler has proven his mettle on multiple occasions. Butler seemed quite at ease and hit 67 runs, including four boundaries and four sixes, as other English batters battled against a strong Bangladeshi bowling lineup.
However, he failed to make any impact as Bangladesh handed over a humiliating defeat to England, reiterating the kind of impact he has on the roster. While the series has been dusted away, the visitors will be hoping to return to winning ways in the penultimate match of the series.
Predicted XIs
England: Jos Buttler ©, Philip Salt, Dawid Malan, Ben Duckett, Sam Curran, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood
Bangladesh: Litton Das ©, Rony Talukdar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shakib-Al Hasan, Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Nasum Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman
Prediction
While Bangladesh has already won a historic T20I series, they will be hoping to claim a series whitewash. They have looked in impeccable touch despite a few hiccups here and there. We predict Bangladesh to hand England their third consecutive T20I defeat on Tuesday.