Posed with a stiff target of 306, England opener Alex's 95 and No. 3 batsman Joe's 133* help Morgan & Co beat Bangladesh by eight wickets in tournament opener at The Oval
Alex Hales, Joe Root
England's Joe Root celebrates after hitting the winning runs in the ICC Champions trophy cricket match between England and Bangladesh. Pic/AFP
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The sun was out and the Oval pitch was benign. In such perfect conditions defending even a total of 300 was not easy. Bangladesh discovered this much to their chagrin as riding on Joe Root's undefeated century (133*, 11 fours and one six), England cantered to an eight-wicket win in the opening match of the Champions Trophy. It was the first time 300-plus had been chased down in the tournament's history.
One feels sorry for Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal, who got the tournament's first century. But after he departed for a well-made 128, the following batsmen could not build on his effort and though they notched up 305 for six, they ended up at least 30 runs short. Besides, Bangladesh were playing with just four frontline bowlers, and badly felt the absence of off-spinner Mehdi Hasan Siraj.
Alex Hales celebrates after scoring his half-century. Pic/Getty Images
Bangladesh went into the match with a defensive mindset, preferring to play an additional batsman at the cost of wily Hasan. Besides, skipper Mashrafe Mortaza allowed the game to drift for long periods. England are desperate to win their maiden title at home in their third attempt. Their strong batting line-up was not going to mess this one up despite losing Jason Roy (one) cheaply. Alex Hales deserved a century, but fell five short of the coveted mark to spinner Sabbir Rahman. But Root, despite struggling with a foot injury, did not let go of the chance to negate Iqbal's ton, with a well-paced innings.
Probably the only concern from the match for England, besides Roy's poor form, was injury to Chris Woakes, who could bowl just two overs. As yet, it is difficult to say if he will be fit for England's next match against New Zealand at Cardiff on June 6. They have four days to work on his niggles.
Bangladesh would feel that they let this one slip. They needed a bit more aggression - both while batting and bowling, if they had any hope of upsetting the applecart of the hosts.
With Australia and New Zealand up next, Bangladesh would be eager to show that they deserved to be in the elite Champions Trophy, ahead of the West Indies.
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