Islam raises Bangladesh’s World Cup campaign

another astonishing contest on its head with a breathtaking assault in the batting Powerplay to leave England stunned by their fifth cliffhanger in consecutive contests, and facing their own make-or-break encounter with West Indies in Chennai next week.
In another unbearably tense finale, Bangladesh’s ninth-wicket pair of Shafiul and Mahmudullah transformed a futile situation with glorious blaze of strokeplay, as they turned an asking rate of 57 in 62 balls into a glorious victory with an over to spare.
The honour of the winning hit went to Mahmudullah, who belted a Tim Bresnan full-toss through the covers for four, to queue pandemonium among the most passionate cricket supporters in the world.
On a sluggish track in which runs had, for the most part, to be grafted, England batted first and were bowled out for 225 – a total that was no better than par, and which owed everything to a chalk-and-cheese stand of 109 between Jonathan Trott and the fit-again Eoin Morgan. In reply, however, and in tricky dew-laden conditions that made the ball tricky to grip – particularly for their cantankerous spinner, Graeme Swann – Bangladesh were on cruise control at 155 for 3 in the 31st over, before a calamitous run-out gifted their opponents a way back into the game.
The man who had the game in the palm of his hand was Imrul Kayes, the less-vaunted of Bangladesh’s opening batsman, who slipstreamed Tamim Iqbal during a captivating 38 from 26 balls that put Bangladesh firmly ahead of the run-rate, before settling down to play the holding role with a chanceless 100-ball 60.
Chanceless, that is, except for his sketchy running between the wickets.
For it was his ill-advised decision to take a second run to deep square leg that ended a fourth-wicket stand of 72 with Shakib Al Hasan that looked to have broken the back of England’s resistance. In the next five overs, as Bresnan and Paul Collingwood applied the emergency brake, Bangladesh were limited to seven singles before Shakib – gasping to lift the tempo after a doughty 58-ball innings – aimed a loose sweep at Swann and was bowled for 32.
Mushfiqur Rahim had been virtually strokeless since the run-out, with two runs from 18 deliveries before the re-introduction of Ajmal Shahzad persuaded him to drive expansively through the covers. But one ball later he edged a beauty on off stump through to Matt Prior, and before another run had been added, he produced another superb delivery to take out Naeem Islam’s off stump for a duck.
It was a near-replica of the delivery that had earlier sent Raqibul Hasan on his way in the same manner, and with eventual figures of 3 for 43, Shahzad was England’s most successful bowler of the day.
In between whiles, however, his line had been all over the shop – a performance that too many of his team-mates had been willing to emulate, not least James Anderson, who had borne the brunt of Tamim’s early onslaught, and later served up a dreadful nine-ball first over of the batting Powerplay – including five wides first-ball – to give Bangladesh real belief in the closing stages. – CricInfo.