Bangladesh earn first-ever victory over England

KARACHI: In a see-saw match, Bangladesh kept their nerves to earn a historic, first-ever One-Day International (ODI) win over England in the second match to level the series 1-1.

A dramatic finish saw Shafiul Islam dismiss England’s potential hero Jonathan Trott in the final over with six runs to win as Bangladesh earned a first win over England in any format as well. Trott played the innings of his life to take his team close to the finish line but it was not to be as England lost regular wickets to keep Bangladesh in the game after they made 236. Ian Bell, who was injured, came out at number 11 to partner Trott, but did not face a delivery as Trott was dismissed for 94.

Earlier, the Bangladesh batsmen spoiled a good start to the innings to finish with 236 runs on the board. Anjum Shahzad rocked the tourists with an impressive return of three for 41 in only his third ODI as Bangladesh lost their explosive opener Tamim Iqbal in the sixth over of the innings.

But Imrul Kayes steadied the ship with a valiant knock to ensure Bangladesh bowlers had something to bowl at.

A brief cameo by Mashrafe Mortaza at the end also boosted Bangladesh to a healthier 236 but it was less than what they had expected after a reasonable start to the innings.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2010.