Jason Roy scored 61 as England successfully chased down a target of 125 to beat Bangladesh by eight wickets in their second group match of the T20 World Cup.
Eoin Morgan’s side have now recorded two wins from two matches, having sealed a dominant six-wicket victory over West Indies in their opening game.
They started brightly in Abu Dhabi, reducing Bangladesh to 26 for three after losing the toss and bowling first.
Bangladesh batter Mushfiqur Rahim top scored with 29, but England chipped in with regular wickets throughout the innings to restrict them to 124 for nine.
Roy and Dawid Malan then put on 73 for the second wicket in reply, with Roy eventually out for 61 when he was caught by Nasum Ahmed at third man.
Malan and Jonny Bairstow saw England home with eight wickets and 35 balls to spare to push them further clear at the top of Group 1.
Are England favourites to win the T20 World Cup?
On the evidence we’ve seen so far – and for the last number of the years – you’d certainly have to consider Morgan’s side as being in with a real chance of lifting the T20 World Cup for the second time.
They have now put together back-to-back performances of high quality, with key contributions from different players in both matches.
Their spinners played an important role in both games, with the pitch in Abu Dhabi slightly less conducive to spin than in their opening match in Dubai.
Moeen Ali has now taken four wickets in the tournament at an economy rate of under six, whilst Adil Rashid took sensational figures of 4/2 against West Indies. Liam Livingstone – who didn’t bowl in the opening match – took two wickets for 15 runs against Bangladesh.
We’ve yet to see England’s batters unleash their fearsome striking power over an entire 20 overs yet in the tournament proper. However, when they did so in the warm-up games against India and New Zealand, they passed 160 on both occasions. Bairstow top scored with 49 in the former, with Buttler scoring 72 from 51 balls in the latter.
There will, of course, be plenty more tests still to come for the number one ranked side in T20Is. But the early signs are promising.
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