Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sport
David Charlesworth

England overcome fielding woes to restrict Bangladesh

AP

England were undermined by a slipshod fielding performance but a strong finish from their bowlers restricted Bangladesh to 158 for two in Dhaka.

While Jos Buttler won the toss for the first time in nine attempts this year, England’s bid to avoid a T20 series whitewash was undermined by basic errors, with Rehan Ahmed and Ben Duckett dropping catches.

Litton Das was shelled by Duckett on 51 and went on to amass 73 off 57 deliveries and put on 84 for the second wicket with Najmul Hossain Shanto, whose fine series continued with 47 not out off 36 balls.

While Adil Rashid and Chris Jordan were the only wicket-takers, England’s quicks offered remarkable control at the death as Bangladesh added just 27 runs in the last five overs, conceding only one four.

Litton and Rony Talukdar put on 46 in the powerplay but the partnership should have been ended, only for the latter’s top-edge to slip through the fingers of Ahmed, leaving bowler Jofra Archer covering his eyes with his hands.

A couple of mistakes in the outfield followed but Rony’s drop did not prove too pivotal as the opener’s attempted reverse sweep off Rashid – the pick of England’s bowlers with one for 23 – took a toe-end and ballooned back to the leg-spinner.

Shortly after passing fifty, Litton whacked Archer into the deep and, while Duckett could not cling on after running to deep midwicket, Jordan removed the opener with a slower ball that carried to Phil Salt.

Jordan, Archer and Sam Curran bowled well at the death, with the latter conceding just four runs in the final over.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.