Opener Jason Roy's brisk half-century after a disciplined bowling display helped England crush Bangladesh by eight wickets on Wednesday in their Group 1 Super 12 match of the T20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi.
Opting to bat, Bangladesh managed to post a below-par 124 on the board, losing wickets at regular intervals against a clinical English bowling attack. In reply, Roy struck 61 off 38 deliveries while Dawid Malan (28 from 25 balls) added finishing touches to help England secure a comprehensive victory. Jos Buttler also chipped in with 18 at the top but it was Jonny Bairstow (8 not out) who finished the game with an emphatic pull shot off Shoriful Islam for a boundary.
Chasing a total that looked far from being intimidating, the English batters took the baton from their bowlers, steering the 2009 T20 World Cup winners to the top of Group 1 standings. The Eoin Morgan-led side has now won both its opening games of the marquee event.
Roy's blitz
Roy laid the foundation by reaching his fifty in just 33 deliveries and stitching a 50-run stand for the third wicket with Malan. The right-handed openers whacked 5 fours and three sixes before falling prey to Shoriful Islam in the 13th over. His departure, however, didn't exert influence on England's run-chase as they needed just 11 more runs to get past the line.
Steady at the start, Roy wasn't afraid to sweep the spinners and rotate the strike. "I've been working very hard, today was a very big Test for me against two left arm spinners, two left-arm seamers, an off spinner," said Roy after bagging Player of the Match award. Coincidentally, it was also Roy's 50th T20 International in England colours.
The Moeen Magic
A successful IPL season with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) seemed to have rubbed off Moeen, who plucked both the Bangladesh openers in two deliveries inside the Powerplay. In an attempt to sweep Moeen, Liton Das top-edged it to Liam Livingstone while Mohammad Naim picked out Chris Woakes inside the ring.
Woakes also joined forces with Moeen to dismiss star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, leaving Bangladesh reeling at 27/3 in the first six overs. While Moeen finished with figures of 2/18 in his three, Woakes gave away just 12 runs along with removing Shakib in his four overs. England's hero of the previous match against West Indies -- Adil Rashid -- had a bad day at the office as he popped up as the most expensive bowler, leaking 35 runs in his four overs.
Tymal's show towards the end
While Liam Livingstone plucked the vital wickets of Mushfiqur Rahim (29) and skipper Mahmudullah (19), it was Tymal Mills who cleaned up the Bangladesh lower-order to end with a three-fer.
Livingstone first trapped Mushfiqur plumb in front to break the wicketkeeper-batter's 37-run stand with Mahmudullah. He then dismissed Mahmudullah, who charged down to loft it straight down the ground but holed out to Woakes at backward point.
Mills perhaps saved his best for last as he plundered Bangladesh at the death, picking three wickets in his last two overs of the innings. A mini-collapse towards the end compounded Bangladesh's misery as they finished with a below-par 124 on the board.
