Visitors recover from 65 for 4 and then 161 for 7 to go 1-0 up in Mirpur
Matt Roller01-Mar-2023Dawid Malan played the best innings of his ODI career to steer England to a tense three-wicket victory over Bangladesh in Mirpur and further his case for inclusion in their World Cup defence in India later this year.England made tough work of a target of 210, slipping to 65 for 4 and 161 for 7 as Bangladesh’s spinners squeezed the life out of their chase. But Malan, batting at No. 3, saw them home with eight balls to spare, adding an unbroken 51 for the eighth wicket with Adil Rashid to seal the win.Malan has been a peripheral member of England’s 50-over set-up for most of his career but has taken every opportunity that has come his way in the past nine months. He has now hit hundreds in each of the last four bilateral ODI series he has featured in; given the circumstances, this innings was the pick of them.This fixture started barely 24 hours after the remarkable climax of England’s Test against New Zealand in Wellington, some 7,000 miles away from Dhaka. They fielded completely separate sides – though Will Jacks, an unused squad member at the Basin Reserve, flew to Bangladesh on the second day of the Test, and won his first ODI cap.Joe Root, England’s leading scorer at the 2019 World Cup, was among those unavailable due to the fixture clash and is nailed on to bat at No. 3 when the schedule allows him to return to the ODI side. Yet Malan is also an experienced opener and, at this stage, looks as strong a candidate as any to fulfil that role alongside Jonny Bairstow.It was not easy-going for Malan, who battled his way to 50 off 92 at the second drinks break as England desperately looked to survive, in particular against the threatening Mehidy Hasan Miraz. But he relieved the scoring pressure after the interval, crashing Mehidy over cover and then lofting him for a straight six, eventually guiding them across the line by working Najmul Hassan Shanto through midwicket.Shanto had top-scored for Bangladesh with a gritty, 82-ball 58 from No. 3 – an innings that was not dissimilar to Malan’s. He extended his recent Bangladesh Premier League form – he was the league’s top-scorer – with his maiden ODI half-century, an overdue landmark in his 16th innings.Bangladesh struggled to build partnerships throughout their innings, with Shanto and Mahmadullah combining for Bangladesh’s only 50-run stand. England shared wickets around, with their three seamers and three spinners both accounting for five batters between them.Tamim Iqbal opted to bat first and made a bright start, hitting four early boundaries after surviving a chance when Chris Woakes put down a caught-and-bowled opportunity in the first over. Litton Das, his opening partner, pulled Woakes for six over square leg as Bangladesh raced to 33 for 0 in 4.4 overs, but was trapped lbw by the next ball he faced.Mark Wood and Jofra Archer were back in action•Getty ImagesShanto was also reprieved early, dropped by a sprawling Jason Roy at backward point, but hit his next two balls for four and settled into a rhythm on a slow, low pitch.Mark Wood, playing his first ODI since July 2021, bowled the final over of the initial powerplay and struck with his third ball to remove Tamim. He breached the 90mph/145kph mark with his second ball, then rushed Tamim with his third, a back-of-a-length ball which bounced appreciably; Bangladesh’s captain could only fend onto his own stumps, via his elbow.Adil Rashid had Mushfiqur Rahim caught at deep midwicket on the slog-sweep, and Bangladesh were 106 for 4 when Shakib Al Hasan was cleaned up by Moeen Ali. Shanto continued to accumulate, but after reverse-sweeping Rashid for four, he pulled Rashid’s googly straight to Roy at short midwicket to fall for 58.When Mahmudullah strangled Wood down the leg side, Bangladesh were in danger of being bowled out. Jacks took his maiden ODI wicket when Afif Hossain pulled tamely to mid-on, and Mehidy Hasan edged Archer behind cheaply. Taskin Ahmed hit Rashid for six and then four to ensure Bangladesh would post something competitive before he strangled Archer down the leg side, with Taijul skying a return catch to Moeen to end the innings with 16 balls unused.England struggled for fluency in the chase, and lost Roy in the first over as he chipped to mid-off while looking to hit Shakib over his head. Phil Salt’s scratchy innings came to an end when Taijul’s arm ball skidded into his leg stump via his pad and when James Vince was stumped charging the same bowler, England were in trouble at 45 for 3. Soon after, Malan survived a tight lbw shout on review, with ball-tracking predicting Taijul’s offbreak would have clipped leg stump rather than hitting it flush.Tamim attacked just before the first drinks break, bringing Taskin back into the attack and posting Shanto at slip in the 17th over. He was rewarded immediately, as Jos Buttler steered a back-of-a-length ball straight to the close catcher, bringing Jacks in at No. 6 on debut. Jacks, playing his first List A game since 2019, struggled early on but a flurry of boundaries took scoring pressure off Malan, who was battling hard against Mehidy’s offbreaks.But Jacks holed out to midwicket for a flashy 26, and when Mehidy’s final ball skidded into Moeen’s stumps after a 38-run stand with Malan, England were wobbling. Woakes chipped Taijul to mid-on with 49 runs required and three wickets left, but Rashid proved the perfect foil for Malan. He calmly rotated the strike as Malan opted to attack; with Mustafizur Rahman proving expensive, Tamim eventually ran out of options as England snuck home.