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Opener Dawid Malan's 140-run knock helped England get back to winning ways with a comprehensive win over Bangladesh in Dharamsala by 137 runs. England's top order was on song as they posted 364/9. In the massive run chase, Reece Topley struck thrice with the new ball to make it a one-sided encounter. It also helped them improve their net run rate (NRR) which was in tatters after losing to New Zealand in the ODI World Cup opener.
Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and opted to bat first. Malan and Jonny Bairstow were attacking in the first powerplay overs. Malan reached his half-century from just 39 balls. Bairstow completed his half-century from 54 balls. Shakib broke the partnership in the 18th over Bairstow got bowled. He scored 52 runs from 59 balls. They shared a 115-run opening partnership. Malan and Joe Root did not let the tempo dip in the middle overs. Malan reached three figures from 91 balls. He became the fastest to six ODI centuries from 23 innings breaking Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq’s record.
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Malan went berserk and smashed Mehidy Hasan Miraz for two sixes and as many fours in the next over. Meanwhile, Joe Root reached his half-century from 45 balls. His catch was dropped in the next over. He also became the leading run-scorer for England in World Cups, surpassing Graham Gooch (897 runs). Mahedi Hasan stopped Malan from attacking. The opener got bowled. He scored 140 runs from 107 balls featuring 16 fours and five sixes.
Buttler attacked right from the start but got bowled as he failed to pick the slower one from Shoriful Islam. The left-arm pacer struck twice in the next over to get Root and Liam Livingstone's wicket on consecutive deliveries. Root scored 82 runs from 68 balls whereas Livingstone was dismissed for a golden duck. Harry Brook hit a few boundaries but he became Mahedi's second victim of the day. England lost too many wickets in the slog overs but managed to post a challenging total of 364/9.
Litton Das kick-started the run chase with three consecutive fours against Chris Woakes. Left-arm pacer Topley dampened Bangladesh's spirits as he got wickets of Tanzid Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto off consecutive deliveries. He also dismissed the Bangladesh skipper to derail the opposition's run chase. Then Woakes dismissed Miraz to reduce Bangladesh to 49/4 in the ninth over.
While Mushfiqur Rahim took his time in the middle, Das continued to bat freely. Woakes came back into the attack to break the partnership with Das' wicket. His 66-ball 76 featured seven fours and two sixes. Rahim got to his half-century from 61 deliveries. But the required run rate was climbing up. Topley came back into the attack to dismiss Mushfiqur who scored 51 runs from 64 balls. Hridoy used up too many deliveries and was dismissed by Livingstone for a 61-ball 39. The lower order delayed the inevitable. In the 48th over, Bangladesh got bowled out for 227 as they lost by 137 runs.
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