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A test of resolve and recovery with series on the line
- Updated: October 8, 2016
Match facts
October 9, Mirpur Start time 2.30pm (0830GMT)
Big picture
The first game was a timely advertisement for ODI cricket. It had recovery acts from both sides that turned into domination, debutants giving a great early account of themselves, a batsman who redefined his style and an allrounder taking giant strides. Then of course there was Bangladesh having batting and fielding calamities, but it all added up to the spectacle.
The Mirpur crowd felt enthralled for much of the game. Given how Bangladesh floundered during the final scene, they can expect another dramatic encounter in the second match given how they will be desperate to level the series.
England will push to secure the series, and to do so they first need Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow to be fit for Sunday. Roy suffered a shoulder injury while diving in the outfield while Bairstow has a hip flexor strain. Jake Ball, who took the debut five-for, also felt the physical pressure of bowling a late spell in the climbing humidity. The England support staff will have had their hands full on Saturday.
Ben Stokes will once again be expected to weigh in with his burgeoning role of the batting enforcer at No. 5. He will be pleased to see how he thwarted the spinners with different skills, a further sign of his evolution as an international batman in conditions that previously he – and England – could have lost their way in.
Bangladesh will be going through the customary soul-searching that accompanies such collapses. They will also have to find a way to stretch their batting order because Mashrafe Mortaza, for all his good form with the ball, can’t buy a run at No. 8. Mushfiqur Rahim’s …
