ICC World Cup 2019: Match 12, England vs Bangladesh, Preview – Hosts aim to strike back but the Tigers seek to produce combative test

Dhaka hosted one of the finest games played between these sides in the 2011 World Cup, where Bangladesh were 8 down for 169 whilst chasing 226 runs. Although England had the game under control, the Tigers pulled off a spectacular comeback to win their first ever game against the Three Lions in any format of the game.

Four years later, another incredible chapter was written in this rivalry when Bangladesh drowned the English in a virtual knock out group stage game. Mahmudullah scored a century as the Tigers made their first-ever Quarterfinal appearance in a World Cup. Bangladesh has gotten bigger and better in these four years, so have the English, which makes up for a scintillating contest.

Both sides are coming into this game with a win and a defeat to their name. England looks stronger among the two on paper, but the sheer spirit of this unit led by Mashrafe Mortaza has already taken down South Africa. Cardiff witnessed a couple of low-scoring games and another could be on cards on Saturday.

Playing Combinations

England

England has a very settled lineup and we will not see a lot of changes as the tournament progresses. Morgan might contemplate bringing in Liam Plunkett in place of Mark Wood. The likes of Jonny Bairstow and Eoin Morgan will be keen to get amongst the runs for the English. Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes will be keen to deliver a better performance in the death overs have conceded way too many against Pakistan.

Probable XI

Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid/Liam Plunkett, Mark Wood.

Bangladesh

Sabbir Rahman might come into the XI in place of Mohammad Mithun for the Tigers. Apart from Tamim Iqbal, most of their top order batsmen have been registering good scores, a very positive sign for the skipper. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan will be the two spinners accompanying a three-man pace attack including Saifuddin, Mortaza and Mustafizur Rahman.

Probable XI

Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mohammad Mithun/Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mustafizur Rahman

Focus will be on

Jason Roy (England)

Heading into this tournament, Jason Roy was in the form of his life but he has not found his rhythm yet in the World Cup. The first two games didn’t provide any memorable moments for him personally and are due to a big score. The youngster will find it very challenging to face the Bangla spinners, but he definitely will have the upper hand against some of their pacers.

Mashrafe Mortaza (Bangladesh)

The leader of a pack who came a very long way in the last four years, Mashrafe Mortaza led this side from being minnows to a fiercely competitive unit. The Tigers are now beginning to roar even in the ICC tournaments and their first two matches should give them a lot of confidence. Mortaza has been bowling in good areas thus far and his experience could come in handy against the attacking threat of the English batters.

Head to head

Matches played – 20 | England won – 16 | Bangladesh won – 4

Stat Attack

2 – Bangladesh defeated England twice in ODIs and both this wins came in the World Cups.

144 – Number of runs Shakib Al Hasan needs to score to reach the 6000 ODI runs milestone and he will be the second Bangladesh player.

Broadcast details

TV – Star Sports

Online – Hotstar

Match Timings – 15:00 IST; 10:30 local.