World Cup 2023: England crush hapless Bangladesh by 137 runs

Bangladesh made a brilliant start to their campaign in the World Cup 2023 after a dominating show against Afghanistan. But facing defending champions England was always going to be a different kettle of fish altogether for the Tigers. At the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala where they beat the Afghans, Bangladesh lost to England by 137 runs.

The Tigers have usually been excellent in World Cups against the Three Lions, having won two out of four times before Tuesday’s game. But this time around, England did not allow their opponents much breathing space. Jos Buttler’s men also made amends after starting with a nine-wicket defeat at the hands of New Zealand.

Bangladesh’s decision to bring in Mahedi Hasan for an experienced Mahmudullah did not overly work out. Mahedi did pick up four wickets, but leaked runs at an economy rate of 8.87. After opting to field first, Shakib Al Hasan’s men found themselves in all sorts of trouble as Jonny Bairstow and



Dawid Malan put on 115 runs for the opening wicket off 117.5 overs.

Bairstow, who played his 100th ODI, scored 52 runs before Shakib rattled his woodwork. Thereafter, Malan and Joe Root put on 151 runs for the second wicket to pile on more misery for Bangladesh. Malan raced to his hundred off 91 balls, also becoming the fastest batter to score six hundreds in ODIs.

The southpaw went on to rack up 140 runs off 107 balls with 16 fours and five sixes. Root carried his impressive form as he scored 82 runs off 68 deliveries. Root also toppled Graham Gooch as England’s leading run-scorer in World Cups and is now eyeing the 1000-run mark.

After Jos Buttler departed following his cameo of 20 off 10, England struggled as Bangladesh bowlers performed brilliantly at the death. In the last 10 overs, the Brits scored 66 runs and lost seven wickets. But England would have been delighted with their final score of 364 for nine in 50 overs.