‘A bit unlucky with the rain’

England's 3-0 defeat in their Twenty20 series in Bangladesh was a real "eye-opener" for the world champions, white-ball coach Matthew Mott said.

Bangladesh secured a 16-run victory in Mirpur on Tuesday to complete the whitewash and Mott said England would have to learn from it.

"We really wanted to finish well here. I think it's been a fantastic tour in terms of what we've been up against, a very strong home team," Mott said.

"That one hurts. To finish the way we did will leave a bit of a sour taste in our mouths. It should act as a real eye-opener on where we need to improve."

England were short on batters for the series after Tom Abell and Will Jacks were forced to withdraw due to injuries, and Mott defended the decision to not call up replacements.

"There was a realisation that we were probably better off investing in some batters here and putting them under pressure in these games. You only learn from your mistakes," Mott added.

"The opportunities they were given here will give them time to reflect and when we get into pressure situations in World Cups, I am confident that it will have been the right decision."

However, former England captain Nasser Hussain suggested they were looking too far ahead to the 50-overs Cricket World Cup, which will take place in India in October and November.

"I see what they're trying to do, but the short-term view and the long-term view, you've always got to balance that as a selector ...," Hussain told Sky Sports.

"I just think not having the extra batter sends the wrong message ... Pay attention to this game in front of you, and if you do that then the future will look after itself."

The poor outfield of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala was the focal point of both Bangladesh and England's pre-match press conferences on Monday ahead of their crucial World Cup clash today.

Bangladesh's spin bowling coach Rangana Herath downplayed the concerns regarding the outfield condition, saying he "was happy with it". However, from England's perspective, it appeared to be a big issue with their skipper Jos Buttler not shying away from labelling it as "poor".

Both teams have an interesting history in World Cups, with two wins for each in the four meet-ups between the two.

On pen and paper, defending champions England are the outright favourites for today's clash. However, England skipper Buttler still stayed guarded.

"We've had some excellent games against Bangladesh, a very good team and we respect every team that we play. And in World Cup matches, you expect really tough opponents and tough fixtures," said Buttler at the pre-match press conference yesterday.

The game against the Tigers will be a crucial one for England, especially after a massive nine-wicket defeat to 2019 runners-up New Zealand in their opener saw their net run-rate take a plunge.

"Both teams have only played one match, so we're very confident as a team. We know we can play better than we did in the last game and we look forward to putting in a good performance tomorrow," Buttler was confident of putting in a better display today.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, are brimming with confidence after beginning their World Cup campaign with a comprehensive six-wicket win over Afghanistan at the same venue two days ago.

Meanwhile, England's former World Cup-winning skipper Eion Morgan called Bangladesh "a tricky side" when he interacted with the media yesterday.

According to Morgan, the relatively less experienced campaigners stepping up for Bangladesh is a good sign.

"Look, historically, when they won games, they looked up to their bigger players. But one of the positives against Afghanistan was that their youngsters stood up. The likes of [Najmul Hossain] Shanto and [Mehedi Hasan] Miraz really took the pressure off," Morgan, who saw his side out of the 2015 World Cup at the hands of the Tigers.

Morgan also hailed Shakib's leadership qualities, mentioning that it could be a big factor for the Tigers against the defending champions today.

"Normally, [in Bangladesh's case] it's left to the more experienced players as it was a tricky chase [against Afghnaistan]. It was pretty similar to the game between India and Australia where the two experienced players took the responsibility and won the game. That will help the like of Shakib's performance and his leadership in tomorrow's [today] game if they continue to stand up," he said.

The match took place at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, but the pitch and the crowd were such that Bangladesh’s method during yesterday’s 62-run win against Afghanistan was straight from the Mirpur playbook. On a slow wicket, they overcame Afghanistan’s spin threat with steady partnerships built around Mushfiqur Rahim’s 83, and slowly but surely accelerated to a total of 262 for eight. Then, the bowlers, all raised on sluggish surfaces, choked the Afghan batsmen into making mistakes and one particular player drew blood five times as the required run rate ballooned and the wickets in hand shrivelled.

Also, like Mirpur, the support for Bangladesh was overwhelming. When the match was nearing its conclusion, loud chants of ‘Shakib, Shakib!’ went up when Bangladesh’s highest scorer and highest wicket-taker in this World Cup was fielding at the deep square leg fence. He had just completed the quintessential star all-rounder’s performance, scoring 52 in Bangladesh’s innings and then returning spectacular figures of five for 29 from 10 miserly, incisive overs. If his contribution to Bangladesh staying relevant in the World Cup needed to be underscored, he has been the player-of-the-match in the three matches that Bangladesh have won so far.

The win, with two World Cup matches left, moves the Tigers up to fifth position with the equation remaining much the same – having to win their last two matches against India on July 2 and Pakistan on July 5, as well as needing one or two other results to go their way, to make the semifinals.

Skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza had placed great importance on assessing conditions during play to win matches across the varying conditions and grounds of the UK. He could not have asked for more than a slowish wicket, a large outfield and Afghanistan skipper Gulbadin Naib’s favour of batting last on a used wicket. Afghanistan had played India on the same surface on Saturday and held their mighty opponents to 224 for eight in an 11-run loss and so would have had a good idea of conditions. But being the superior team on paper, in rankings, on current form and in experience proved to be enough for Bangladesh who understood the Mirpur-ness of the situation and played accordingly.

But it was not all roses for Bangladesh. Their toughest tests are to come in crunch matches against stronger subcontinental opposition, both of whom can be expected to largely negate their spin strength. In that regard, the pace department is a concern. All of them -- Mustafizur Rahman (6.7), Mohammad Saifuddin (6.69) and Mashrafe (6.34) – have been expensive throughout the World Cup. Mashrafe has gone wicketless in five of the six matches so far, including yesterday. Mustafizur and Saifuddin are equal with Shakib on wickets with 10 each, but the two wickets that Mustafizur took – Rashid Khan in the 44rd over and Dawlat Zadran in the 46th – and Saifuddin’s wicket of Mujeeb Ur Rahman to end the chase on 200 with three overs left were all taken when the result was beyond question.

It was Shakib who, in three spells of wily left-arm spin, won the match for Bangladesh. Coming on in the 11th over, he dismissed Rahmat Shah with a skidder that the batsman top edged to mid on. Mosaddek Hossain chipped in by having Hashmatullah Shahidi stumped, but Shakib was back in the 29th over to deal the decisive blow. Naib, the innings’ top scorer with 47, was caught smartly by Liton Das at short cover and a ball later, Shakib bowled

Mohamamd Nabi with a classic arm-ball that snuck through bat and pad. In the 33rd, he had Asghar Afghan smartly stumped by Mushfiqur Rahim. At the end of the over Shakib’s figures read four for 10 from seven overs. Mashrafe could have gone for the kill, but chose to rest Shakib, who had to wait till the 42nd over to bag his second ODI five-for through another stumping, this time the victim being Najibullah Zadran as Afghanistan fell to 188 for seven.

When Bangladesh were batting, even the new ball was stopping on the batsmen, as illustrated by some airy drives early on by Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das, who was opening the innings instead of Soumya Sarkar presumably to deny off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman two left-handers to bowl to.

It was one that stopped that got rid of Liton for 16, when the right-hander drove early against a carrom ball and offered a low catch to cover, where Hashmatullah Shahidi got his fingers underneath the ball just before it hit the turf. The decision went upstairs with a soft signal of out, and after a few replays it was concluded that the catch was clean.

The in-form Shakib Al Hasan was nurdling singles, while Tamim found it harder to score, especially against the off spin of Mohammad Nabi, who was extracting sharp turn from the surface. Tamim made up for a slow start by striking two boundaries off Gulbadin Naib in the 14th over. However, as has been a feature so far in this World Cup, he departed after having done the hard work when, on 36 from 52 balls in the 17th over, he shaped to cut the last ball from Nabi anticipation of turn, but was bowled by one that went straight through.

Off the very next ball, bowled from the other end by Rashid Khan, Shakib was adjudged leg-before and immediately reviewed and, fortunately for Bangladesh, the decision was overturned as the ball was shown to be going over the stumps.

Tamim’s departure brought the form duo of Mushfiqur and Shakib together, and they set about milking the Afghan spinners, bringing up the fifty-run stand in just 51 balls in the 25th over. Shakib’s dismissal, leg-before to Mujeeb, brought to an end a 61-run third-wicket stand. Soumya did not last long, but Mahmudullah Riyad stitched together another significant partnership of 56 for the fifth wicket with Mushfiqur. Despite being visible hampered by a calf strain that he would later get scanned last night, Mahmudullah ran hard and hit some timely blows before a tired looking shot off a Naib slower delivery saw him depart for 28 off 37.

From 217 for five after 43 overs, Mosaddek and Mushfiqur took some quick runs, focusing as much on boundaries as on singles. Bangladesh scored 68 off the last 10 overs. Mushfiqur holed out off Dawlat in the penultimate over for a valuable 87-ball 83, and Mosaddek was bowled by Naib off the last ball for a vital 24-ball 35.

A recurring theme of Bangladesh’s World Cup campaign has been that Shakib Al Hasan has been head and shoulders above his teammates. Yesterday, during the 106-run loss against England, while the rest of the team ap-peared to be in damage-control mode, first trying in vain to limit England’s scoring and then to overcome scoreboard pressure and the hosts’ finely honed bowling attack, Shakib adapted to conditions and became only the second Bangladesh batsman to hit a World Cup century.

With a lowest score of 64 in the 3 matches so far, Shakib’s 119-ball 121 took him to the top of the run-scorers’ charts in this edition with 260 runs at an average of 86.7.

The number one all-rounder in world cricket is known for out-smarting batsmen with his left-arm spin and his batting is much the same, especially yesterday when -- com-ing in at number three -- he absorbed the early pace pressure from Jofra Archer and Mark Wood and soon found a way to pick his areas and deliveries to score runs at a good rate while his teammates floundered.

“They were quick, but I enjoyed the difficult challenge,” Shakib said in the post-match press conference at the Cardiff Wales Stadium yesterday. “They are the two quickest bowlers in the World Cup. It was tough but I felt very happy about the way I played them.”

He was troubled early by Archer’s bouncers but soon enough, moved inside the line to hook him over fine leg for six.

Just as he found solutions to England, he has found a way to give more to the team by batting at number three, where he has averaged 55.4 since January 2017.

“It was my decision. I had to convince everyone,” Shakib laughingly said. “If I don’t score runs in a single match, they think that I should bat at five. It is working at the mo-ment.

“Having said that, it is just the start. I need to contribute with both bat and ball. I thought [batting at No 3] is a better opportunity to contribute more with the bat. There are plenty of matches left in this tournament.”

It is generally acknowledged that he is the best all-rounder in the world. Perhaps his exalted status in world cricket gave him the belief that he is capable of taking on the best, or perhaps that belief makes him the best. Either way, after a timid display yester-day, the rest of his teammates can use his example well in the coming matches.