Bangladesh-England ODI Series 2023 
First Match Played at SBNCS Dhaka on 1 March 2023 
England 212/7 in 48.4 Overs ( David Malan 114*, Will Jacks 26, Adil Rashid 17*, Taijul Islam 3/54 , Mehedy H Miraj 2/34, Taskin 1/26, Shakib 1/45) beat Bangladesh 209 All Out in 47.2 Overs ( Nazmul H Shanto 58, Mahmudullah Riad 31, Mark Wood 2/34, Moeen Ali 2/35, Jofra Archar 2/37 , Adil Rashid 2/47) 

England Won by 3 wickets with 8 balls to spare 
Player of the Match: David Malan 

Sher E Bangla National Cricket Stadium the sanctuary of Bengal Tigers witnessed a seesaw battle between Three Lions and Team Tigers. Lions surviving Tigers surge won the first of the three matches ODI series by 3 wickets with 8 balls to spare. Batting first on a wicket favoring pace, bounce and turn Bangladesh could master only 209 getting all out in 47.2 overs. Even with a nominal score Bangladesh fought tooth and nail with formidable opposition conceding defeat for a defiant 114 not out by otherwise flamboyant David Malan. 

We are aware that England is reigning ODI and T20 Champions. Bangladesh has beaten England at home and in England, also won against them in 2011 and 2015 World Cup. But never won in a bilateral ODI series. With ICC World Cup round the corner in India this year it was an acid test for team tigers. On a greenish wicket favoring blistering pace of Wood and Archar, also swing and seam of Chris Oakes Bangladesh batsmen had their works cut out. Leg spinner Adil Rashid and left arm spinner Moeen Ali also bowled well. Bangladesh could crawl to 209 all out which at innings break appeared 35-40 runs too less. But spirited Bangladesh exploiting the condition well pressed the tourist hard. Only the defying unbeaten 114 runs by David Malan got them through. England survived tigers scare. They now lead three matches series 1-0. 

Tamim winning the toss elected to bat. He looked a bit rusty returning to international cricket after a while. Litton struggled and got out cheap. Wood and Archer were breathing fire bowling at shearing 150 KM plus pace and disconcerting bounce. Tamim got a scorcher which disturbed his furniture after scoring 23. Shanto and Mushfique hanged on for a while before veteran Mushfique fell to Rashid trying to sweep the leg spinner. Shakib came and went batting irresponsibly. Young Shanto in the meantime held one end up. A 53 run 5th wicket partnership between Shanto (58) and Riad (31) gave the innings some respectability. We are not sure Bangladesh batsmen dealt with Adil Rashid or Moeen Ali with required skills or patience at all. 209 runs in an ODI against a formidable opposition was not a match winning score. It could easily be 225-230 had they batted full quota of overs.

But tigers tried to defend that ordinary score with whatever resources they had. Shakib could got rid of Jason Roy with his first delivery. He removed him with the last ball of his first over. Taskin, Taijul, Miraj all bowled well. English lions struggled against tight quality bowling. Salt, Vince, Butter failed. Only David Malan exhibiting exceptional skills hanged on playing every delivery to their merit. Will Jack gave him company. David’s unbeaten 114 scored off 145 deliveries punctuated with 8 fours and 4 sixes won the match for England by 3 wickets with 8 balls to spare.  

Bangladesh lost the match alright but learned a lot. Against world class bowling attack on a sporting wicket, they had good measure of their batting capability. Tamim. Mushfique, Shakib must bat with more commitment and composure. Young fearless Tawhid Hridoy should be given a go. Bangladesh badly needs a class leg spinner. Someone needs batting through the innings like David Malan. 

BDST: 1248 HRS, MAR 02, 2023
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