Mahmudullah, historic Bangladesh win and england out
England crashed out of World Cup 2015 in spectacular fashion while a Rubel Hossain-inspired Bangladesh created history by entering the knockout stages of a World Cup for the first time. In a see-saw chase England made a mess of chasing down the target of 275 and eventually fell 15 runs short. Rubel Hossain with figures of 4/53 was Bangladesh's star performer with the ball while Mahmudullah's 103 set the game up for Bangladesh early in the day.
However, things went downhill rather rapidly soon after. Rubel Hossain bagged Ian Bell and Eoin Morgan in the same over to trigger a dramatic turnaround in the 27th over. England lost 5 wickets for 66 runs in the middle overs but were still in the game as Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes fashioned a fightback. Buttler's 52-ball 65 took England closer to the target but his dismissal in the 46th over with England still needing 38 runs brought Bangladesh back into the game. The loss against Bangladesh was England's fourth in five games and also meant that they had lost against all the other Test playing nations in Pool A. Chasing a stiff target in a must-win game, England started well thanks to their top three playing quite fluently. Ian Bell guided the chase with a well composed 63 and at 97/1 in the 20th over, England were firm favourites to win the game and stay alive in the competition.
There was some drama with Chris Jordan's run-out very next ball. Simon Fry, third umpire, took a lot of time to check if Jordan's bat had bounced up after a dive. Even as TV replays seemed inconclusive, Fry went against Jordan much to the dismay and shock of the England camp.With Chris Woakes batting fluently, England were still in the game as 15 runs came in the 48th over. England needed 15 from the last two overs with two wickets in hand when Rubel Hossain came back into the attack. The pacer promptly produced two quick, full deliveries to beat both Stuart Broad and James Anderson in the space of three balls. An aghast Woakes remained unbeaten on 42 but had ran out of partners and England out of steam. Bangladesh were understandably cock-a-hoop. This was, arguably, the most important win in their cricket history.
It was the batsmen who set up the famous win. Mahmudullah registered his first ODI ton and Bangladesh's first ever World Cup ton while Mushfiqur Rahim slammed a 77-ball 89 to power Bangladesh to a competitive total of 275/7.
Bangladesh's eventual score seemed a distant possibility after the start that they endured. England opted to bowl first after winning the toss and James Anderson's incisive first spell saw Bangladesh being reduced to 8/2 in just the third over before Mahmudullah walked in. Anderson had both the openers - Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Keyes - edging to the slip cordon and gave England the momentum early on. Bangladesh were in dire need of a partnership and found the right men in Mahmudullah and Soumya Sarkar to begin the resurrection. The duo added 86 for the third wicket before Jordan made amends for leaking runs by getting Sarkar for 40 in his second spell.Bangladesh were pegged further back in the next over when their star batsman Shakib Al Hasan edged Moeen Ali to slip.
Mahmudullah was well set by this time and soon after got to his second consecutive fifty off 69 balls. After another double setback, Bangladesh fought back once again through a rousing stand between Mahmudullah and Rahim. The latter batted with refreshing freedom and eased the pressure on Mahmudullah, who was content at holding one end up. The pair complimented each other beautifully. Rahim not only ensured that Bangladesh got out of trouble but gave the innings some much needed impetus. The pair got together at 99/4 and were split only when Mahmudullah fell in the 46th over after a well-compiled 103.
Their 141-run stand also ensured that England faced a tough target to chase in a must-win game. England were not helped by some shoddy back-up bowling from Chris Woakes and Jordan. While Moeen Ali was milked for runs quite deftly by Mahmudullah and Rahim, Woakes proved to be the weak link in the attack and was regularly hit for boundaries by both Rahim and Mahmudullah. The former wasparticularlyclever in targeting the shorter squareboundaries and played a couple of delightful pulls while Mahmudullah played in a more orthodox manner. His knock was as pleasing on the eye as it was effective, the stand-out being his drives on the up through covers and flicks off the hip. Going into the innings break, Bangladesh certainly had the momentum but were not clear favourites.
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