Cardiff (Wales): After conceding a narrow defeat to Pakistan in their last World Cup fixture, England will look to bounce back against Bangladesh when the two teams meet at the Cardiff Wales Stadium Saturday.
England, touted as favourites for the ongoing World Cup, suffered a 14-run loss to Pakistan at Trent Bridge Monday. While their bowlers went for plenty conceding 348 runs, England batsmen also failed to come out with an attacking performance which has been associated with them over the last two years. It was only Joe Root and Jos Buttler who kept them in the hunt with brilliant centuries that almost sealed the game until their lower order faltered.
However, captain Eoin Morgan put the onus of their defeat on their poor fielding. England let down a couple of catches and were sloppy in the field. Jason Roy let down a rather easy catch of Mohammad Hafeez, who played a match-winning knock of 84 from just 62 balls and played a crucial role in Pakistan reaching around the 350-run mark.
On the other hand, Bangladesh failed to replicate their performance with which they had come out against South Africa in their tournament opener and lost a nervy battle to New Zealand in their last fixture.
Their bowlers have been able to put up a fine performance in both their outings. However, against New Zealand, their batsmen couldn’t convert their starts and failed to take their team to a significant total.
Going into Saturday’s game, skipper Mashrafe Mortaza will expect his openers and the middle-order batsmen to shoulder some responsibility alongside Shakib Al Hasan, who has been in prime form and set a decent total against the famed England batting line-up which is capable of posting as well as chasing any given target.
Squads
England: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Abu Jayed, Liton Das (wk), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Mithun (wk), Mohammad Saifuddin, Mosaddek Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal
IANS
