Shortly before midnight on the eve of this match a violent storm shook Dharamsala, thunder rousing the restful as lightning turned night into day. This was not quite a performance to match from England but, having sleepwalked into the tournament, they were at times electric here, rolling over Bangladesh thanks to some hammer blows from Dawid Malan, thunderbolts from Reece Topley and lightning pace from Mark Wood, winning by 137 runs.
Malan’s career-best one-day international innings of 140 – aided by half-centuries from Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root – set England on their way to a potentially earth-shattering score. If their eventual total of 364 for nine was not quite that, it certainly left Bangladesh with something many non-cricketing visitors to these parts are actively seeking: a mountain to climb.
Enter Topley, who replaced Moeen Ali in England’s lineup and in his first over, the second of Bangladesh’s reply, dismissed Tanzid Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto with successive deliveries, snaffled at second slip and backward point respectively. From there, and despite an outstanding innings from Litton Das, Bangladesh’s only real ambition was damage management.
Topley also took the key wickets of Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh’s talisman and captain, with an excellent delivery that tore into the top of middle and off, and Mushfiqur Rahim, who scored an obstinate 51 off 64. Wood, whose five overs against New Zealand last Thursday cost a hair-raising 55 runs, rediscovered his spark, bowling with venom and sustained pace, conceding 29 from his 10 overs and splattering the stumps of Shoriful Islam.
But England’s new dawn was partially obscured by a couple of dark clouds. Chris Woakes’s efforts with the new ball were again expensive, and eight overs into Bangladesh’s innings he had bowled four, taken no wickets and cost 34 runs. At the other end Topley had bowled four, taken three wickets and leaked 11 runs (though Woakes’s four later overs brought 15 runs and two wickets). With the bat, the middle order, a theoretical strength, again proved feeble.
Fortunately, by the time they were required to strap on their pads the game had in effect been won. Malan’s century was a rarity in this format, in that his second 50 was considerably slower than his second – his first took 39 balls, his second 52, and it was only after reaching triple figures that he truly pressed the accelerator pedal. He smashed five boundaries off his next nine deliveries including four in a row off Mehidy Hasan Miraz, giving him the minor but notable achievement of scoring more runs off an over than any other Englishman in the World Cup. His final 40 runs came off 16 balls, his innings demonstrating that if he is a very different prospect at the top of the order than an in‑form Jason Roy he is no less valuable.
His 140 is his highest ODI score, and the same as his highest Test score. After a slightly awkward start he hit Mustafizur Rahman for a four and a lovely six, lifted off his shins, in the fifth over. From there he was imperious until, 33 overs later and now holding nothing back, he swung at a Mahedi Hasan delivery and missed, becoming the first of the bowler’s four wickets.
Root remains the man for the big occasion: after scoring 39 in four worrying innings as England limbered up against New Zealand last month he has 159 in two at the World Cup. He contributed 82 off 68, including eight fours and one six, inevitably reverse-ramped, and in the process surpassed Graham Gooch to become England’s all-time highest scorer at World Cups.
Jonny Bairstow contributed 52 off 59, very much the quiet partner as Malan set to work at the other end, before misjudging one from Al Hasan that straightened, with a bit of extra pace, to clip the top of leg stump.
Most of England’s innings could have been lifted from a textbook of ODI batting: 61 without loss in the first 10 overs, 67 for one in the next 10, 59 without loss in the next, and then an acceleration, and 111 for two between overs 31 and 40. Two balls into the 41st over England scored their 300th run and their World Cup pinnacle of 397, against Afghanistan in 2019, if not the all-comers mark of 428 set by South Africa against Sri Lanka on Saturday, looked in range.
But beyond the top three no one scored more than 20, even if Liam Livingstone, whose first delivery ended with his off stump being uprooted by Shoriful, remains the only one to have been dismissed without reaching at least double figures.
There is much more to come from this side but at least the outlook – like the net run rate – is positive.
