England will look to clinch the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh when they face off in the second ODI at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Friday.
The visitors won the first ODI by three wickets on Wednesday, posing a threat to end Bangladesh’s seven-year-old unbeaten run at home in the ODI series.
Dawid Malan’s unbeaten century steered England to a smooth victory that seemed difficult on the challenging Mirpur pitch. Malan, who has plenty of experience playing in Bangladesh, assessed the situation well and delivered what England required.
Both teams will be hoping for better batting performances in the second ODI, as they struggled to cope with the disciplined bowling from both sides. Bangladesh were bowled out for 209 overs, with only Najmul Hossain Shanto hitting a fifty.
Shanto reached his maiden ODI half-century but fell soon after, playing a loose shot. The left-hander will be keen to convert his starts into big scores and cement his place in the middle order.
England also lost wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 103-5 at one stage. Malan held the innings together with a mature knock and found support from Will Jack (26), Moeen Ali (14) and Adil Rashid (17 not out). The left-hander hit eight fours and four sixes and smothered Bangladesh’s charge with his calmness under pressure.
England captain Jos Buttler praised Malan’s innings and said he was pleased with the team’s performance.
Read more: Analysis of BAN vs ENG 1st ODI 2023
“It was a fantastic knock from Dawid Malan. He showed great composure and skill. It was a great win for us. We showed great character and fight,” he said after the match.
Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal rued the lack of runs on the board and said his team need to bat better in the second ODI.
“We were probably 20-25 runs short. We lost too many wickets in clusters. We need to bat better as a unit,” he said in the post-match presentation.
Bangladesh are likely to stick with the same XI that played in the first ODI, unless they opt to replace underperforming Mustafizur Rahman with any of Ebadot Hossain and Hasan Mahmud.
The pitch is expected to be similar to the one used in the first ODI, offering some assistance to both seamers and spinners. Dew could play a factor in the evening and prompt the team winning the toss to bowl first. The weather is forecasted to be dry but getting warm.