Roy century seals Bangladesh ODI series for England

Jason Roy scored a superb century as England thumped Bangladesh by 132 runs in the second one-day international to secure the series with a game to spare.

Sam Curran quickly reduced Bangladesh to 9-3 in the chase and despite Shakib Al Hasan’s battling half-century, the hosts limped to 194 all out.

Leg-spinner Adil Rashid removed Shakib and impressed again, taking 4-45.

Curran came back to finish the job, ending with figures of 4-29, and England take an unassailable 2-0 lead into Monday’s final ODI.

Having fought through a difficult start, Roy accelerated as batting became easier and reached a 104-ball hundred during a 109-run stand with Buttler.

The skipper also looked destined for a century but having hit Mehidy Hasan for back-to-back sixes, he was cut off in full flow next ball by an excellent return catch from the off-spinner.

Moeen Ali and Curran got the momentum going again with some impressive late hitting before Curran rocked Bangladesh with two wickets in his first over and a third in his second.

Shakib and Tamim Iqbal tried to claw their side back into the match with a stubborn 79-run partnership but Moeen removed the latter and when the former chipped Rashid to mid-off, the game was over as a contest.

After seven straight ODI series wins on home soil, Bangladesh have suffered their first defeat since England’s last visit in 2016.

Roy’s welcome return to form

Just 48 hours ago, some people on social media were declaring Roy’s international career over after a sixth single-figure score in 12 ODI innings.

In the same spell, the 32-year-old had managed only one 50-plus score – albeit that was a century in South Africa.

Now the form guide reads two hundreds in five innings and Roy’s place at the top of the order looks a lot more secure.

Part of the issue for the 2019 World Cup winner is that when he is out of sorts, it really shows. As imperious as he looks at his best, out of form he is every bit as awkward.

In Mirpur, Roy was made to fight for every run early on, grinding his way through the powerplay before conditions improved and his confidence grew.

Roy was close to his dominant best by the time he was approaching three figures and the onslaught only intensified once he had reached the milestone.

Always something of a streaky player, his most recent slump extended far longer than previous downturns but he is trending in the right direction again, which can only be good news for England.

Curran’s white-ball reputation continues to soar

Given he was named player of the tournament in England’s successful T20 World Cup campaign and ended last year by becoming the most expensive player in Indian Premier League (IPL) history, Curran’s success in white-ball cricket is no longer a surprise.

But that does not make it any less impressive. With both bat and ball, he has the ability to shape a game.

Coming in with England well placed and with the freedom to play his shots, Curran smacked an unbeaten 33 from 19 balls that included three sixes, two of them in the final over, which bumped the visitors’ total from good to very good.

Not many sides can boast such a pure ball-striker at number eight and that alone might be enough to tempt a few IPL franchises to stump up a not insignificant amount.

However, it is with the ball that he has really shone since going from a player on the fringes of the white-ball side to a leading light.

In Mirpur he did so again, practically ending Bangladesh’s chase before it had even started with the wickets of Litton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto in successive deliveries – the latter feathering behind a beautiful out-swinger.

Mushfiqur Rahim departed in his next over, the left-armer’s savvy on show again as he angled the ball across the right-hander and found the edge as the batter played for swing.

This was just Curran’s 22nd ODI since making his debut in 2018. With a bowling average closer to 40 than 30, he has not always excelled for England in the 50-over format but he gives the impression that he is only just getting started.

‘One to 11 stood up’ – what they said

England captain Jos Buttler: “That was a fantastic series win. Bangladesh are a formidable team at home, we are delighted to get a series win.

“From one to 11 the guys stood up and I thought the standard and intensity we played at was much higher than the first game and that’s what we strive to get to.

“We’ve talked a lot in the dressing room about adapting to conditions and being a team that can play in a variety of ways. When we turn up in Chittagong we are going to have to assess the conditions and play accordingly. But there are lots of guys putting their hands up.”

Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal: “I am disappointed to lose the series.

“When you lose a game like this you can point a lot of fingers at a lot of people. But I’m not the kind of person to do this. We just didn’t click as a team today. It was not the fault of any individual.”

Player of the match, England opener Jason Roy: “I had to dig deep with my skills and put it on the field.

“I needed to give myself an opportunity today. In the first game I had a rush of blood and played a pretty poor shot against the spin. Today I made sure I batted time and made sure I gave myself the best opportunity to score runs.”