The England cricket team will be aiming to record its first win in the 2023 edition of the ICC Cricket ODI World Cup on Tuesday during the much-awaited clash against Bangladesh. The team is all set to play at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala on Tuesday.
The defending champions are in desperate need of a win in the tournament as they are currently at the bottom of the points table following a loss against New Zealand in the season opener. However, the defeat is unlikely to hamper the team’s confidence, and they will enter the Tuesday game as favorites.
England has one of the strongest squads for the ODI World Cup with a perfect mix of batters, bowlers, and all-rounders. However, one thing that can hurt the team is a less competent spin department.
Speaking of the Bangladesh cricket team, they are enjoying a joyous ride in the tournament with a win against the Afghanistan cricket team by six wickets. With two points, the Tigers are reeling at the fourth place in the points table.
Unlike England, Bangladesh has a strong spin unit, but the team lacks a good batting order. Their batters have not been able to dish a good performance in the recent past and that can be an obstacle to their World Cup campaign.
What has happened so far?
Bangladesh kick-started their campaign in the 2023 edition of the Cricket World Cup with an exciting game against Afghanistan in Dharamsala. Bowling first, the Tigers did a good job as they restricted the Afghans to a score of 156 runs in the allotted 50 overs. Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz were the pick of the bowlers with three wickets each.
Chasing the score, it was an easy ride for the Bangladesh team as they reached a win in only 34.4 overs. Miraz contributed with the bat as well as he smacked 57 runs off 73 balls. Meanwhile, it was Najmul Hossain Shanto, who ended up as the top run-scorer with a knock of unbeaten 59 runs.
As Bangladesh scored a win by six wickets, Mehidy Hasan Miraz took home the Player of the Match award. However, the England cricket team did not enjoy the same fate in the season opener as they were hammered by the New Zealand team by nine wickets.
It was an average batting performance by the defending champions at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad as they racked up a score of 282 runs. Joe Root was the leader of the pack with the bat as he hit 77 runs while the skipper Jos Buttler also did well with a knock of 43 runs.
Chasing the score, New Zealand reached the target with 36.2 overs as the English bowlers failed to pose any threat to the opposition batters. Sam Curran was the only player to pick a wicket in the game.
Head to Head Record
The Bangladesh cricket team has had an opportunity to clash with the England side in just 24 One Day Internationals so far. The Englishmen enjoy a one-sided domination over the Asian team as they have won a total of 19 games while Bangladesh could manage to score a win in just five matches.
Key Players
Joe Root (England): Joe Root has been the go-to man for the England cricket team in the recent past, especially in the One Day Internationals. The former skipper was the only positive for the side as they recorded a nine-wicket defeat at the hands of New Zealand in their first match. Batting at number three, Root hit 77 runs after facing 86 balls with the help of four boundaries and a maximum.
The batter also has a glorious international record in One Day Internationals with a whopping 6323 runs in 163 matches at an average of over 49. England will be hoping for Root to churn out another good performance for them to record their first win in the World Cup 2023.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz (Bangladesh): Mehidy Hasan Miraz was one of the top players for Bangladesh in the Asia Cup 2023 as he hit 158 runs in five matches at an average of over 39. The player is continuing his good form in the World Cup as well and he won the Player of the Match award in his team’s first game against Afghanistan.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz took home the Player of the Match award against Afghanistan
Miraz scored 57 runs to help the team chase 157 runs in 50 overs while he was also one of the top bowlers with three wickets.
Predicted XIs
England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler © (wk), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shakib Al Hasan ©, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman
Prediction
Considering the current form, Bangladesh should have an edge as they defeated Afghanistan by six wickets while England lost to New Zealand by nine wickets. However, despite tasting defeat in the season opener, the English side will walk into the Tuesday encounter as favorites.
They have a better squad as compared to Bangladesh, and the team is capable of giving any team a run for its money irrespective of their current form. Though the defending champions will have the upper hand, the Tigers are expected to give a tough fight.