Mashrafe and Taskin star in feisty series-levelling victory

Bangladesh 238 for 8 (Mahmudullah 75, Mashrafe 44) beat England 204 (Buttler 57, Mashrafe 4-29, Taskin 3-47) by 34 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details

All the major cricketing nations to visit Bangladesh in the past three years, with the exception of Sri Lanka, have discovered to their cost that they are far from the pushovers they once were. That truth is now painfully evident to England after a 34-run defeat in Mirpur in the second ODI that sets up a decider to the series in Chittagong on Thursday

When Bangladesh set England 239 for victory, they knew they had a vaguely competitive, if unprepossessing, score, but surely even they could not have imagined that it would provide such a substantial winning margin. England’s 204 – bolstered by a last-wicket stand of 45 – could have been much lower.

England’s cause was all but lost when Jos Buttler, their captain, became the seventh batsman out at 123, his serene resistance ended when he walked across his stumps against Taskin Ahmed and was given out lbw on review. After Bangladesh celebrated uproariously and Buttler took a drink of water before departing, something that was said riled him. He swung back in fury – Mahmudullah seemingly his target – and was gently ushered away by the umpires. There were more words at end-of-match handshakes, England’s fury unabated. The match referee could well take an interest.

That flare-up should not deflect attention from Mashrafe Mortaza’s rousing display. There have been many times in his long career when Mashrafe has seemed almost mashed-up, an allrounder of passion held together by desire and bandages, his follow-through often taking place in his mind only. But he was a potent force here, firstly to drag Bangladesh’s score to respectability with a rumbustious 44 from 29 balls at the death, roared in to take three top-order wickets and finally sealed victory by deceiving Jake Ball with a slower ball just as England dared to hope for a miracle.

James Vince’s penchant for pretty off drives was again his undoing as Mashrafe nibbled one away to have him caught at backward point, Jason Roy played across a straight one and Ben Stokes was unhinged by a full inswinger which bowled him off his pads.

Add Ben Duckett, who was bowled as Shakib Al Hasan turned one through the gate, and England ended the first Powerplay at 31 for 4 – their lowest 10-over score since they reinvented their 50-over cricket after a …

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