Tamim Iqbal’s 128 off 142 balls led Bangladesh to 305-6 in their opening Group A match against England at the Oval on Thursday.
Bangladesh boast a good record in knockout competitions against the hosts, beating them in both the 2011 and 2015 World Cups.
Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to bowl first, as rumours swirled around the fitness of Ben Stokes leading up to the toss. The 25-year-old all-rounder, however, confirmed that he would be fit to bowl, much to the delight of English fans and fantasy players alike.
The hosts lined up with four seamers, bringing in Jake Ball instead of leg-spinner Adil Rashid.
Bangladesh batted without fear, led by Iqbal, who helped his side past the 100-mark (21.1 overs) and reached his half-century in the process. Despite being two wickets down at this point, thanks to Stokes (1-42) and Liam Plunkett (4-59), Bangladesh looked solid as they continued to pace themselves.
With their side on 125-2 by the half-way mark, Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim turned up the heat. They took Bangladesh to 150 three overs later and continued to march on, as their partnership grew.
Mushfiqur reached his fifty in 48 balls, bringing up the pair’s 100-run partnership with a beautiful straight drive, followed by a cut off the first ball of the 37th over, which brought up 200 for the Bengal Tigers.
Iqbal followed suit in the next over, with a deft touch to reach his ninth century in 124 balls and his second against England in 13 matches.
The 44th over saw a dilscoop from Mushfiqur for six, to bring up the 250-run mark for the visitors as the innings was starting to run away from the home side.
A change of bat from Iqbal saw a brace from Plunkett in the following over, which saw Iqbal lose his wicket, followed by Mushfiqur on 79 off 72 balls, as their record-breaking 166-run third-wicket partnership came to an end.
It was a cameo knock of 24 off 15 (fours and sixes) from Sabbir Rahman which took Bangladesh past 300, surpassing their highest-ever score against the hosts (288), but he too lost his wicket to Plunkett for his fourth.
It was a historic day for Bangladesh, who not only set their highest-ever total against England, but the 164-run third-wicket partnership between Iqbal and Mushfiqur was the highest-ever third-wicket partnership between the two sides.
Iqbal’s 128 was the fourth-highest score at the Oval and the first century on the ground by a Bangladesh batsman.
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