Bangladesh suffer second straight defeat in Super 12 stage after posting 124-9 as Mills (3-27), Moeen (2-18) and Livingstone (2-15) impress; England follow up their thrashing of West Indies with another dominant display, reaching their target off 14.1 overs
Wednesday 27 October 2021 20:46, UK
Opener Jason Roy celebrated his 50th Twenty20 cap with a blistering 61 off 38 balls as England romped to an eight-wicket Super 12 win over Bangladesh, in sultry Abu Dhabi.
Roy struck three sixes and five fours as Eoin Morgan's side recorded their second convincing win of the ICC T20 World Cup after thrashing West Indies on Saturday.
The two teams had never previously met in a T20 international and it will be an occasion Bangladesh will want to forget after a sloppy display that leaves them with only a slim hope of qualifying from Group 1 after two defeats in as many games.
A total of 124-9 never seemed likely to trouble England, whose victory was built on an impressive bowling display led by Tymal Mills (3-27), Liam Livingstone (2-15) and Moeen Ali (2-18).
So it proved as the top-ranked T20 team on the planet reached 126-2 off 14.1 overs - Dawid Malan, batting at three, finishing unbeaten on 28 off 25 balls after putting on 73 with Roy off eight overs.
Both teams took a knee before the first ball in an anti-racism gesture, a day after South Africa's Quinton De Kock refused to do so and subsequently withdrew from his side's game against West Indies.
Having chosen to bat, Bangladesh quickly found themselves in trouble, struggling to 27-3 in the powerplay as Moeen removed openers Liton Das and Mohammad Naim in consecutive balls.
Both wickets fell tamely - Das top-edging a sweep after striking a brace of boundaries in the first over of the match and Naim lobbing a simple catch to mid-on looking to strike down the ground.
There was nothing simple about the third catch of the innings - Adil Rashid leaping and turning athletically at short fine leg to send Shakib Al Hasan back for just four, the victim of a spliced pull off Chris Woakes (1-12 off four overs).
The effort was almost bettered by a flying Mills at backward point but Mushfiqur Rahim (29), struck early on his hand by Woakes, survived to help rebuild the innings with Mahmudullah (19).
The pair added 37 off 5.2 overs only for Mushfiqur to fall lbw attempting to reverse sweep Livingstone - the bowler winning the decision on review.
Bangladesh gifted England a fifth wicket with a horror run-out - Afif Hossain short by a distance after Tymal Mills caused confusion with a mis-field at short fine leg.
Mahmudullah needed to bat out the innings but fell trying to force the pace, slicing Livingstone to backward point to leave Bangladesh on 83-6 after 15 overs, their boundary tally at that point just seven fours.
Mills tightened the screw, picking up the scalp of Mahedi Hasan (11) as he looked to scoop a slower ball, and the first six of the innings didn't come until the 19th over when Nasum Ahmed (19no) twice pulled Rashid over the leg-side rope.
Nineteen runs came off the over - easily the most productive of the innings - but there was to be no repeat as Mills conceded just five off the last and picked up two wickets off the last balls of the innings, which featured 52 dot balls in total.
Roy, playing his 50th T20, cut the first ball of the chase from Shakib for four to set the tone for a positive opening stand that yielded 37 runs off the first four overs.
Jos Buttler (18 off 18) fell trying to force the issue, picking out long off of Nasum with a punch off the back foot - the wicket bringing Dawid Malan in at three after the left-hander was dropped down the order against West Indies.
England's return of 50-1 from the powerplay was almost double that of Bangladesh's and Roy pressed on, striking Mahedi Hasan down the ground for four before cutting the spinner's next delivery to the boundary.
Malan, not known as a rapid starter, struck two of his first four balls to the rope and so straightforward was England's progress that they reached 90-1 off 10 overs with little need to take risks.
Calculated hitting was sufficient as Roy reached his half-century off 33 balls with a brutal straight six off Nasum and followed up with another outrageous maximum, dismissing a Shoriful Islam bouncer with disdain over fine leg.
By the time the Surrey batter ramped Shoriful to third man, the game was all but done and Jonny Bairstow finished the job with a crunching pull for four off the left-armer.
England's next Super 12 match takes place on Saturday, when they take on Australia - live on Sky Sports Cricket from 2.30pm.
