Sports
Moeen Ali turns on the power as England overwhelm Bangladesh
England enjoyed a useful, if hyper-extended, workout under the Guwahati floodlights, as a three-hour rain delay and even a nearby earthquake couldn’t prevent the world champions from finalising their tournament plans in a high-octane run-chase against Bangladesh. The result, while immaterial, was secured with a blizzard of sixes from Moeen Ali whose 56 from 39 balls secured a four-wicket win with a hefty 77 balls remaining of their rain-reduced 37-over chase.
Bangladesh had their moments, particularly while Tanzid Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman were showing their ability with bat and ball in the powerplay, but ultimately they were overwhelmed by England’s unrelenting aggression. The tone of England’s attacking display was set by a bristling Jonny Bairstow who stretched his legs for 34 from 21 balls, in the manner that had been denied him during the “utter chaos” of England’s 38-hour trek to India’s eastern extremities.
Jos Buttler kept up the belligerent tempo to make 30 from 15 in his short and on-point visit to the crease, and though Liam Livingstone came and went tamely, by the time Moeen holed out with four runs to win, he’d launched six sixes into the Assam night to confirm his side will be striding confidently into this week’s tournament opener against New Zealand.
Of far more relevance than the result was the time in the middle for a host of cooped-up players, most particularly the 2019 veterans, Mark Wood and Adil Rashid, who have both been wrapped in cotton wool for the past few weeks, and Joe Root, who remains short of form and confidence, but who survived a painful blow to the groin, as well as a grim error from Taskin Ahmed at deep backward square, to anchor the chase with an unbeaten 26 from 40 balls.
The contest duly finished some eight-and-a-half hours after the first ball had been bowled, but for a time, it had seemed that England’s preparations – across both this game and Saturday’s wash-out against India – would be limited to a 30-over work-out in the afternoon’s truncated action.
At least in that time, England were able to give a clean bill of health to nine members of their bowling attack, including all six of their frontline fast bowlers … although they are now about to be folded back up and stowed away once more in economy class for Tuesday’s flight to Ahmedabad.
Most crucial among those was Wood, England’s fastest and most ferocious point of difference, who had not been unleashed in a competitive environment since the end of July, ostensibly due to a bruised heel sustained during the Ashes. Not for the first time, he showed his explosive pace from the outset of his three-over burst, and should have claimed the wicket of both of Bangladesh’s most effective batters.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz anchored Bangladesh’s innings with a hard-earned 74 from 89 balls, but he should have fallen for 7, to the sixth ball of Wood’s return, when, after a tentative start to his knock, he fenced a lifter outside off but neither Buttler nor Root at first slip reacted in time to cling onto the edge.
However, Wood got his reward two overs later instead. Tanzid’s 45 from 44 balls at the top of the order had gone some way to confirming his readiness to fill the sizeable boots of Tamim Iqbal, but having picked off seven fours and a flamboyant six over deep midwicket off Reece Topley, he was caught in two minds as Wood fired a lifter across his bows, and inside-edged a tentative push onto his own stumps.
The first 20 overs of Bangladesh’s innings was an exclusive diet of seam, as England’s quicks each lined up for a short gallop, and showed their readiness for the main event through a combination of economy and incision, with only Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson going un-rewarded in their five-over contributions.
However, the other major plus for England was the return of Rashid, who missed the bulk of their recent series against New Zealand with a calf niggle. He showed no ill-effects after entering the attack in the 21st over of Bangladesh’s innings and struck twice in five overs to remove the veteran pairing of Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah – the latter to a full-toss but the former to a brilliantly disguised googly that skidded into his stumps under an attempted cut.
When the rain arrived, it seemed that Bangladesh’s 153 for 5 in 30 overs would be the end of that. Instead, they returned – after one aborted restart – for seven further overs, in which the quicks got back into the action. Sam Curran struck with the first ball of his second spell, before both Topley and David Willey found themselves on hat-tricks, the former some five hours after luring Bangladesh’s stand-in captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, into a sketchy slice to deep third.
Topley’s display epitomised the combination of rustiness and raw threat that England are carrying into this tournament. His somewhat ropey first over went for 13, including a wide and two no-balls, but he swiftly hit back with the first ball of his second as Litton Das gloved a lifter down the leg-side to depart for 5 (although there were some doubts as to whether his hand was off the bat at the point of contact).
England’s reply was raucous from the outset. Dawid Malan, their in-form opener, caressed a poetic cut for a first-ball four, only to scuff his second from Mustafizur straight to slip. But Bairstow smashed four fours and a six in seven balls to turbo-charge the powerplay, with England’s 50 coming up inside four overs before Mustafizur powered a yorker past his toes to end the fun.
It took an even better ball from Hasan Mahmud to dislodge an ominously free-flowing Harry Brook. His four fours in a 15-ball 17 had all been stamps of raw class until he was bowled through the gate by a savage nipbacker on a tight off-stump line. Buttler then edged his second ball off Shoriful Islam low past the keeper before smoking his third high over extra cover for six – and as if to prove he was in no mood to stand on ceremony, he then top-edged his fifth over the head of Taskin, who could have had an easy catch had he been sitting back on the rope.
England’s only real concern remains the form of Root, who at least endured to the end of the chase, but rarely looked capable of raising his tempo in the manner that was coming so effortlessly at the other end. He should have holed out to Tanzim Hasan Sakib for 7 from 19, but that man Taskin once again over-ran his attempted catch at fine leg, then let the ball dribble over the rope too. Tellingly, that would be Root’s only boundary of his innings. Fortunately for England, Moeen and Co. had no such power failures to report.
Brief scores:
England 197 for 6 in 24.1 overs (Moeen 56, Mustafizur 2-23) beat Bangladesh 188 for 9 in 37 overs (Mehidy 74, Tanzid 45, Topley 3-23) by four wickets (DLS)
(Cricinfo)
The first hour or so of play on the opening day of the Galle Test belonged to Sri Lanka. But after that, it was all Bangladesh as Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim struck centuries during an unbroken stand of 247, to seize control of day one.
By stumps, Shanto was unbeaten on 136 and had Mushfiqur right behind him on 105 not out. Seamer Milan Rathnayake was the most economical of the Sri Lanka bowlers, his 12 overs going for just 19 runs, but the bulk of the overs were bowled by the spin pair of Prabath Jayasuriya and debutant Tharindu Rathnayake. The wickets were split between Asitha Fernando and debutant Tharindu, but once Shanto and Mushfiqur were set, Sri Lanka rarely caused them trouble.
Winning the toss and opting to bat is usually the obvious call in Galle, but this time in particular, with conditions more favourable than usual for batters, Shanto was rightfully chuffed when the toss fell his way. That smile though, had become closer to a grimace when he stood at the non-striker’s end watching a third Bangladeshi batter fall with not even 50 on the board.
When Mushfiqur walked out to join him, Shanto himself had faced just three deliveries; it took him only until his sixth though to show that he would not be cowed by the situation, skipping down the track and smoking one back over Tharindu’s head. That set the tone, if not outright aggression and displayed resolute confidence.
Tharindu had at that point been building up a head of steam. Mominul Haque had gone after him, but the ambidextrous spinner had the last laugh. And prior to that, he had removed opener Shadman Islam. Shanto though, made it a mission to put Tharindu off his rhythm; he would end the morning session having struck at better than run-a-ball against the spinner, and would continue to target him as a release valve of sorts throughout the day. Of Shanto’s 15 boundaries (14 fours and a six), ten came off Tharindu.
Tharindu eventually settled in and brought down his economy rate, but Shanto and Mushfiqur continued steadily on, the run rate always hovering around 3-3.5 an over. The session counters reflected as much – 90, 92 and 110. The last session might have been less, after Sri Lanka began utilising defensive lines for the first hour, but they got tired in the final hour and it allowed Bangladesh to tick along at nearly four an over during that period.
Considering the batter-friendly nature of the pitch, an argument could be made for Bangladesh perhaps having been able to go harder at the Sri Lankan bowlers, but even with the pitch taking less turn on day one than what it has in the past, the conventional wisdom in Galle has been to bat first and long, and Bangladesh are set up to do just that.
Sri Lanka for most of the morning, would not have imagined proceedings ending up like this. The day had begun with a felicitation and a guard of honour for the retiring Angelo Mathews, and then just 4.3 overs into the day’s play, Asitha got one to seam away and catch Anamul Haque’s edge.
Tharindu then added to the celebratory mood, grabbing two wickets in consecutive deliveries (across two overs), a dream start to his Test career. But then things took a turn with the experience of Shanto and Mushfiqur coming into play.
Sri Lanka too were guilty of perhaps over-bowling the debutant when it was clear he was being targeted, while they could also have possibly refrained from pairing him with Milan, who was creating pressure at one end only for it to be alleviated at the other. For instance, it took until an hour after the lunch break for Jayasuriya to be reintroduced, and by that time, both batters had neared fifties.
That said, both Shanto and Mushfiqur batted with clear purpose and it meant that when Sri Lanka erred, they were waiting and ready to capitalise.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 292 for 3 in 90 overs (Monimul Haque 29, Najmul Hossain Shanto 136*, Mushfiqur Rahim 105*, Tharindu Rathnayake 2-124) vs Sri Lanka
[Cricinfo]
Historic scenes unfolded in Glasgow as the Netherlands-Nepal game went into a third Super Over, with Netherlands prevailing in a thrilling contest. This was the first time any men’s professional match – T20 or List A – had gone into a third Super Over, and it was Netherlands who eventually came on top in a topsy-turvy encounter.
With Nepal requiring 16 to win the match in the final over of regular time, Nandan Yadav hit fast bowler Kyle Klein for 4, 2, 2, 4 and took the game into the first Super Over.
Left-arm spinner Daniel Doram was tasked with bowling the over, and he went for 19 with Kushal Bhurtel smashing him for two sixes and a four. Doram had conceded just 14 in his four overs and picked up three wickets during regular time. Michael Levitt then launched a six the first ball and Max O’Dowd went 6 and 4 off the final two balls to take the game into a second Super Over.
Lalit Raibanshi was then smashed for two sixes off his first three balls but came back well as Netherlands were kept to 17 in Super Over No. 2. Rohit Paudel crashed a six first ball while Dipendra Singh Airee hit a four as the equation came down to seven off the final ball. Airee then smashed Klein over cow corner to take the game into a third Super Over for the first time.
Offspinner Zach Lion-Cachet started the third Super Over, and grabbed the wickets of Paudel and debutant Rupesh Singh as Nepal failed to score a run. Levitt then held his cool and thumped Sandeep Lamichhane for a six over long-on to finally end a thrilling contest.
Earlier defending 152, left-arm pacer Ben Fletcher had a dream start to his T20I career, getting Lokesh Bam caught behind with a full and wide delivery. Klein then had Anil Sah caught at mid-on as Nepal slipped to 9 for 2 in 2.1 overs. But Bhurtel and Paudel took the attack to Netherlands.
Nepal raced to 52 for 2 in five overs before Doram ended Bhurtel’s brisk stay on 34. The runs dried up after the powerplay, with Doram taking charge. He got rid of Airee and then Kiran Thagunna as Nepal could only reach 97 for 5 after 15 overs. With 56 required off the last five overs, it was Rupesh who got Nepal going with a four and six but fell soon after. Paudel and Karan KC kept Nepal in it before the game ran into overtime.
In the first innings, seamer Nandan took the new ball for Nepal and was taken for two back-to-back fours by O’Dowd before the opener planted fast bowler Karan over the ropes. But the introduction of spin changed the narrative.
Rajbanshi struck with his first ball, sending O’Dowd back. Lamichhane was introduced into the attack after six overs and made an immediate impact. He first flattened Levitt’s middle stump with his second ball and four balls later had Netherlands captain Scott Edwards caught at deep backward square leg.
Lamichhane then struck for a third time to dismiss Noah Croes. Saqib Zulfiqar’s late blows, however, took Netherlands past 150.
Brief scores:
Netherlands 152 for 7 in 20 overs (Michaell Levitt 20, Max O’Dowd 19, Teja Nidamanuru 35, Vikramjit Singh 30, Zack Lion-Cachet 11, Saqib Zulfiqar 25*; Sandeep Lamichhane 3-18, Nandan Yadev 2-18, Lalit Rajbansi 1-22, Kushal Bhurtel 1-24) beat Nepal 152 for 8 in 20 overs (Rohit Paudel 48, Kushal Bhurtel 34, Kiran Thagunna 15, Rupesh Singh 19, Nandan Yadav 12*; Kyle Klein 1-32, Ben Fletcher 1-40, Zach Lion-Cachet 1-22, Daniel Doram 3-14, Vikramjit Singh 2-30)via a third Super Over
Super Over 1:
Nepal 19/1 [Rohit Paudel 1*, Kushal Bhurtel 18; Daniel Doram 1-19]
Netherlands 19/0 [Michaell Levitt 6*, Max O’Dowd 12*, Extras 1]
Super Over 2:
Netherlands 17/1 [Scott Edwards 09, Max O’Dowd 07, Extras 1; Lalit Rajbanshi 1-17]
Nepal 17/0 [Rohit Paudel 07*, Dipendra Singh Airee 10*]
Super Over 3:
Nepal 0/2 in 0.4 overs [Rohit Paudel 00, Dipendra Singh Airee 00*, Rupesh Singh 00; Zach Lion-Cachet 2/00]
Netherlands 6/0 in 0.1 over [Michaell Levitt 06*, Zach Lion Cachet 00*]
[Cricinfo]
A morning that had begun with a felicitation and guard of honour for the retiring Angelo Mathews, ended with a new face taking the plaudits as debutant Tharindu Rathnayake grabbed two wickets to help Sri Lanka edge the first session of the first Test of the new WTC cycle.
Bangladesh however had the experienced pair of skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim at the crease as lunch was called, with the pair having put on 45 so far.
Rathnayake was one of two debutants for the hosts, alongside top-order batter Lahiru Udara, and was into the attack as early as the eighth over. With three of Bangladesh’s top five being left-handed, the ambidextrous spinner opted to bowl his right-arm off breaks throughout the morning, and he was in the thick of it almost immediately with an unsuccessful lbw review in just his second over against Mominul Haque.
His third over, following a change of ends, saw a tough chance dropped at slip by Dhananjaya de Silva – Mominul the batter once more – but in in his fourth he got his reward. Shadman Islam, who had been reserved in his 14 off 53, pressed forward to one that was flighted around off. The drift, dip and turn did the rest as Dhananjaya made no mistake this time, holding on to a low chance.
An over later, Tharindu would eventually get Mominul as he would once more attempt the cut, but this time the edge was snaffled by Dhananjaya – nearly identical in position at left shoulder height to the one that was dropped two overs earlier.
Asitha Fernando, meanwhile, had got the ball rolling in the fifth over of the morning, getting one to seam away from Anamul Haque and grab the edge.
Tharindu’s debut spell however wasn’t cheap; his 10 overs went for 52 runs, with Mominul, Shanto and Mushfiqur all taking the attack to him.
It meant that while Sri Lanka would have been happy with the session, on a fairly batter friendly surface Bangladesh will feel confident in their ability to turn this position around over the coming sessions.
Brief scores: Day 1 Lunch
Bangladesh 90 for 3 (Monimul Haque 29, Najmul Hossain Shanto 25*, Mushfiqur Rahim 20*; Tharindu Rathnayake 2-52) vs Sri Lanka
[Cricinfo]
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