On this day in 2011: Bangladesh stun England in a thrilling WC game
England made the quarterfinals of World Cup 2011 in the sub-continent where they were knocked out by the eventual finalists Sri Lanka. They had a hot and cold campaign as they secured a hard-fought tie against India in a high-scoring thriller, beat South Africa in a close contest and went on to suffer losses against Ireland and Bangladesh.
It was on this very day 11 years ago that a spirited Bangladesh got the better of the ‘Three Lions’ in what was a thrilling Group B encounter.
When Bangladesh pulled off yet another upset
Both teams had contrasting results coming into this fixture at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. While England had managed a six-run win against the Proteas in their previous game, Bangladesh had suffered a nine-wicket loss to the West Indies. The coin landed in the favour of the home captain Shakib Al Hasan and he decided to bowl first.
Openers Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior ensured a cautious start for England with a 32-run opening start before both of them were dismissed in quick succession. Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan then carried out the rescue act with a 109-run stand for the fourth wicket. While Trott scored 67, Morgan contributed with 63 that propelled the English team to 225. Captain Shakib, Naeem Islam and Abdur Razzak worked in tandem with two wickets each.
Bangladesh’s tail wags
In reply, Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes were on the attack right from the word ‘go’ as they contributed 52 runs for the first wicket. The hosts seemed to be losing their way after Imrul’s run out for 60 before Shakib brought things back on track for his side. Bangladesh found themselves in all sorts of trouble after he and Mushfiqur Rahim were sent back to the pavilion.
This paved way for the England bowlers to wrap up the tail and they did remove Naeem and Razzak. However, middle-order sensation Mahmadullah had other ideas as he and tail-ender Shafiul Islam put on an unbeaten 58-run stand for the ninth wicket as Bangladesh registered a famous win by two wickets on the final ball of the penultimate over.
