Tamim's prayers answered

Tamim Iqbal was waiting at the lobby of Grange City hotel for someone to pick him up for dinner on Wednesday night. Along with him was opening partner Soumya Sarker. He was having a brief chinwag with this reporter. And it was obviously not about cricket. He has been very superstitious when it comes to talking about cricket or, more specifically, talking to the press, the day before a match.

The left-handed batsman was very excited about the prospect of watching the Champions League final between his beloved Real Madrid and Juventus. He was also very excited to see his footballing hero Cristiano Ronaldo from very close vicinity. He was actually sharing the details of his travel plans for Cardiff, where the final will take place on June 3. He wanted to head to Cardiff after the scheduled morning session at The Oval.

When he was about to leave he said: "Pray for us so we can have a good game tomorrow [Thursday]." This is something he always seeks, but what a wonderful 'tomorrow' it turned out to be for Tamim at the Oval.

The left-hander hit a sublime 128 in a fighting Bangladesh total of 305 against England in the opening game of the ICC Champions Trophy. It was his ninth ODI hundred and first on English soil. Interestingly it was also his first century in an ICC flagship event since his limited-overs debut in 2007.

Tamim's 95 against Scotland in Nelson in the 2015 World Cup was his previous best. It was the year he started approaching the game more methodically -- replacing his aggressive strokeplay with a more disciplined approach. And it has so far worked wonders for him and his team. It was actually his fifth ton in two years since his back-to-back centuries against Pakistan in April 2015.

Tamim's second century against England was an exhibition of flair combined with assurance.  He was off the mark after facing 11 deliveries and his first scoring shot fetched him three runs -- a flick off the pad off Chris Woakes. His first boundary might not have been a convincing one -- a mistimed pull shot that went past the outstretched hand of England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. But from that point onward, till he was eventually caught by the England keeper in the 45th over, he was in total command.

He was hit by a Mark Wood bouncer but instead of being rattled, he dispatched the next delivery -- an obvious short ball -- for four.  His little dab down the third man for four made Ben Stokes so furious that it revived those overflowing moments of England's tour of Bangladesh last year.

He hit some eye-pleasing straight drives, a spectacular pull on his toes, a few savage square cuts with one of those bringing up his fifty off 71 balls. He celebrated that with a magnificent six over extra-cover off Moeen Ali.

Tamim moved onto his century with three singles off Moeen. His ninth century contained 11 fours and a six. He celebrated it with a six over long -- the victim was again off-spinner Moeen.

His 142-ball knock that featured 12 fours and three sixes ended when he top-edged Liam Plunkett. It also drew to close to a magnificent 166-run third-wicket stand between Tamim and Mushfiqur. It is the highest third-wicket stand on this ground and also Bangladesh's highest third wicket stand outside the country.

Unfortunately Mushfiqur, who played so well along with Tamim, holed out off the next delivery after scoring a 72-ball 79. In was an injudicious shot, especially after Tamim's departure. If Mushfiqur was around Bangladesh could have taken the total beyond 225.