Bangladesh win by 2 wickets

Shafiul takes hosts close in thriller

Tamim Iqbal launched Bangladesh's bid for World Cup survival with a brutal onslaught of 38 from 26 balls, before England hit back with three timely wickets to give themselves hope of defending a meagre total of 225 at Chittagong. By the halfway mark of the run-chase, however, Bangladesh were still very much in control of the contest at 123 for 3, with Graeme Swann's inability to grip the ball in dewy conditions undermining England's hopes of tightening the pressure in the middle overs.

After a stuttering finish to their effort with the bat, England carried on misfiring with their initial efforts with the new ball, as the dangerman Tamim was gifted a succession of leg-stump deliveries to kick-start the run-chase and get a partisan crowd right behind his team's efforts. Four of his five boundaries came from the errant James Anderson, and at 52 for 0 in the ninth over, Bangladesh were cruising into the ascendancy.

However, Tim Bresnan has stepped up to become the leader of England's attack in recent weeks, and in his second over he found an aggressive full length with a hint of late movement, and a flat-footed Tamim inside-edged onto his own stumps to stun the crowd back into silence. Four overs later, Anderson atoned for his wayward bowling with a pinpoint shy from backward square to run out Junaid Siddique at the non-striker's end.

Though England had considered playing three spinners in the lead-up to the match, they were very happy to have stuck to what they know when Swann's problems with the slippery white ball started to take hold. Andrew Strauss turned to Ravi Bopara for some fill-in overs of medium pace, while Stuart Broad's replacement, Ajmal Shahzad, produced a mixed bag of deliveries - a regular stream of leg-side wides was offset by the ball of the day to Raqibul Hasan, a perfect legcutter that straightened from a good length to hit the top of off.

With Imrul Kayes dropping anchor to excellent effect, Bangladesh's captain Shakib Al Hasan emerged to provide critical support in a fourth-wicket stand of 50. Shakib made a half-century in Bangladesh's last World Cup fixture against England in 2007, and at the end of a torrid off-the-field week, he found that the middle of the pitch was the safest place to be.

A sumptuous drive off Anderson confirmed his eye was in, although England regained a small measure of control when the umpires agreed to a ball-change after 21 overs, and Swann was instantly in the thick of things with a tidy fourth over that went for two runs. However, the more notable aspect of the over was Swann's petulance when called for a leg-side wide that might have brushed Shakib's pad. Aside from the extra run, it was a sign that England were getting very seriously rattled.

49.4 overs England 225 (Trott 67, Morgan 63, Naeem 2-29) v BangladeshBangladesh v England, World Cup 2011, Group B, Chittagong

Kayes and Shakib build on Tamim fireworks

Shahzad double wrecks Bangladesh

Tamim Iqbal

Bangladesh v England, World Cup 2011, Group B, Chittagong

Kayes and Shakib build on Tamim fireworks

Shahzad double wrecks Bangladesh

Tamim Iqbal
© Getty Images

Tamim Iqbal launched Bangladesh's bid for World Cup survival with a brutal onslaught of 38 from 26 balls, before England hit back with three timely wickets to give themselves hope of defending a meagre total of 225 at Chittagong. By the halfway mark of the run-chase, however, Bangladesh were still very much in control of the contest at 123 for 3, with Graeme Swann's inability to grip the ball in dewy conditions undermining England's hopes of tightening the pressure in the middle overs.

After a stuttering finish to their effort with the bat, England carried on misfiring with their initial efforts with the new ball, as the dangerman Tamim was gifted a succession of leg-stump deliveries to kick-start the run-chase and get a partisan crowd right behind his team's efforts. Four of his five boundaries came from the errant James Anderson, and at 52 for 0 in the ninth over, Bangladesh were cruising into the ascendancy.

However, Tim Bresnan has stepped up to become the leader of England's attack in recent weeks, and in his second over he found an aggressive full length with a hint of late movement, and a flat-footed Tamim inside-edged onto his own stumps to stun the crowd back into silence. Four overs later, Anderson atoned for his wayward bowling with a pinpoint shy from backward square to run out Junaid Siddique at the non-striker's end.

Though England had considered playing three spinners in the lead-up to the match, they were very happy to have stuck to what they know when Swann's problems with the slippery white ball started to take hold. Andrew Strauss turned to Ravi Bopara for some fill-in overs of medium pace, while Stuart Broad's replacement, Ajmal Shahzad, produced a mixed bag of deliveries - a regular stream of leg-side wides was offset by the ball of the day to Raqibul Hasan, a perfect legcutter that straightened from a good length to hit the top of off.

With Imrul Kayes dropping anchor to excellent effect, Bangladesh's captain Shakib Al Hasan emerged to provide critical support in a fourth-wicket stand of 50. Shakib made a half-century in Bangladesh's last World Cup fixture against England in 2007, and at the end of a torrid off-the-field week, he found that the middle of the pitch was the safest place to be.

A sumptuous drive off Anderson confirmed his eye was in, although England regained a small measure of control when the umpires agreed to a ball-change after 21 overs, and Swann was instantly in the thick of things with a tidy fourth over that went for two runs. However, the more notable aspect of the over was Swann's petulance when called for a leg-side wide that might have brushed Shakib's pad. Aside from the extra run, it was a sign that England were getting very seriously rattled.

49.4 overs England 225 (Trott 67, Morgan 63, Naeem 2-29) v Bangladesh

Prior to open as England bat

Bangladesh v England, World Cup 2011, Chittagong

Prior to open as England bat

Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell

Bangladesh won the toss and asked England to bat first, as their crucial Group B clash prepared to get underway in front of a rapt full house at the newly renovated Chittagong stadium. After their catastrophic performance against West Indies in Dhaka, Bangladesh's captain Shakib Al Hasan chose not to risk a repeat scenario of their 58 all out in that match, although his opposite number Andrew Strauss admitted he would also have bowled first given the chance, on a flat and dry wicket that promises a tough day for strokemakers on both sides.

After a tight-lipped build-up to the match, England finally revealed their reshuffled hand in the absence of the injured Kevin Pietersen and Stuart Broad. Matt Prior, who opened the batting in Australia last month, has been shunted back up the order in preference to Ian Bell and Ravi Bopara, while Ajmal Shahzad, who made his ODI debut on the same ground last year, is recalled ahead of Chris Tremlett.

Michael Yardy, who struggled in spin-friendly conditions in Chennai last week, makes way for Paul Collingwood, whose offcutters could prove useful on a low surface, while Eoin Morgan, who was forced to withdraw from the squad last month with a broken finger, will slot straight back into his favoured No. 5 position, having answered Andy Flower's SOS and linked up with the squad this week. He may not be fully acclimatised just yet, but Bangladesh will remember his match-winning feats last year, in particular his nerveless hundred at Dhaka.

Bangladesh have made a solitary change to their team, with the ever-underachieving Mohammad Ashraful omitted in favour of the combative offspinning allrounder Mahmudullah, who scored two fifties in the Tests against England last year. Despite the collective failure of their batsmen, the rest of the line-up have been trusted to make amends for their shortcomings against West Indies.

Thanks to England's remarkable victory over South Africa in Chennai, this contest is no longer make-or-break for them - a mishap here, and they will still get another chance to qualify in their final group fixture against West Indies next week. For Bangladesh, however, it is now or never. The euphoria of their victory over Ireland has dissipated, and they know that a failure here will end their chances of progressing to a home quarter-final in Mirpur.

England 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Matt Prior (wk), 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ian Bell, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Paul Collingwood, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Ajmal Shahzad, 11 James Anderson.

Bangladesh 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Junaid Siddique, 4 Raqibul Hasan, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Naeem Islam, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Shafiul Islam.