Mortaza inspires Bangladesh

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza chipped in with both bat and ball to help his side claim a series-levelling 34-run win against England at the Shere Bangla Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh and take the three-match series into a decider.

Mortaza first provided the late impetus that the Bangladesh innings was calling out for to take the hosts to 238-8. His 29-ball 44 included three sixes and two fours to help give his bowlers something to defend.

Right-handed Mahmudullah though was the star of the show for Bangladesh with the bat, gluing the innings together with a 75-run knock off 88 balls that included six boundaries.

Chris Woakes had done the early damage for England, claiming the wickets of both the openers. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals and had it not been for the aforementioned duo, Bangladesh - who were struggling at both 39-3 and 169-7 - would have been out of the contest before the half-way point.

All of the six English bowlers impressed, with four being among the wickets and none of them going for more than 5.5 runs an over.

England, however, had an even worse start and had blown the seemingly easy chase by falling to 26-4 inside the first 10 overs. Mortaza was the destroyer-in-chief with the ball in hand, dismissing both openers along with all-rounder Ben Stokes, who had made a century in the previous match, for a duck.

The ship was steadied a bit by Jonny Bairstow (35 off 53 balls) and skipper Jos Buttler (57 off 57 balls) but apart from their 79-run stand there was little to write home about from the batsmen.

England’s famous long batting line-up lived up to its billing though and the last two pairs threatened to make a game of it, making 27 and 45 to leave the fans inside the famous Mirpur stadium biting their nails.

Mortaza was not willing to see his side let this slip through their fingers too, and came back on to dismiss Jake Ball and claim 4-29 in 8.4 overs.

The figures were Mortaza’s best against England and the second-best of his ODI career, bested only by his 6-26 against Kenya back in 2006. It was the first time in exactly eight years that the veteran took more than three wickets.

His 44 with the bat was also his highest score against a Test-playing nation and his joint second-highest ever - beaten only by an unbeaten 51 against Scotland in 2006. It was the first time he made more than 40 since May 2007.

The third match will be played on Wednesday in Chittagong.