Bangladesh v England ODI series – Combined XI

The unbeaten home run of Bangladesh ended after 6 series win. It was the new look England team that put the streak to standstill. However, point has been made – Bangladesh are no longer minnows in the game. The series started with a run fest as England posted a huge 309 on the board. Ben Stokes was the showstopper with a brilliant century. Jake Ball had a dream debut with a five wicket haul.

The second ODI saw dramatic series of events. Bangladesh propelled to a total of 238 kudos to late hitting by skipper Masrafe Mortaza. England were never in the chase and fell short by 34 runs as Mortaza bagged a four-wicket haul. The on-field altercations between the players that took all the headlines only intensified the spirits before the decider.

The stakes were high and so was the intensity in the final ODI. Bangladesh posted 277 on the board with Mushfiqur Rahim hitting an unbeaten 67.  Half-centuries from Ben Duckett and Sam Billings helped England ease past the score and break the unbeaten home run of Bangladesh. The performers were many throughout the series.

Here is the combined XI for the ODI series:

Imrul Kayes

Bangladesh opener Imrul Kayes walked in to the series in a breezy form. He was the top scorer, with 121 runs,  in the warmup fixture and carried the same form in the first ODI too. He finished as the highest run-getter of the series, amassing 169 runs in three matches at an average of 56.33. He began the series with a wonderful century in a losing cause. He scored 112 off 119 balls but his efforts were not enough to his team through.

In the second ODI, he could manage only 11 runs. In the third and the final match, he played a satisfying 46 run knock while putting up an 80 run opening wicket stand to give Bangladesh a good start in the decider game at Chittagong.