The Bangladesh versus England ODI series has really heated up both on the field and off it after Bangladesh won an emotion filled second match to level the series at 1-1 on Sunday. That leaves the two teams heading to Chittagong on Wednesday for the series decider knowing that everything is still on the line.
Bangladesh
The home side will be looking to win a seventh straight home series in this match and having been 1-0 down early in the series this would represent a really fantastic turnaround. You would have to say they were beneficiaries of England getting the toss all wrong in the last game but they got under England’s skin and got the win they craved.
Bangladesh’s bowlers stepped up to the plate in helpful conditions on Sunday and they will need to do so again here to restrict England’s batsmen although with Nasir Hossain back in their side they have the batting depth to rescue any shortcomings they might have with the ball.
England
Having somehow rescued the opening match of the series England were soundly beaten in the second match on Sunday. They had bowled much better in that game but with the bat they were never in the game and they will need to make sure they all take responsibility with the willow if they are to come out on top.
Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler rescued the situation in the first match and Buttler was on course for another rescue act in the second game before his dismissal got everyone’s passions running a bit high and it might be the team that controls their emotions the best will win this match.
Team News
It is hard to see Bangladesh making too many changes to their side after getting the balance just right in the previous match. Once again Mustafizur is out through injury.
England might toy with the idea of dropping James Vince for Sam Billings but this England hierarchy have shown faith in players for more than just a couple of matches so Billings might need a last minute injury to force his way into the side.
Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium
We’ve moved away from Dhaka to Chittagong for this deciding match. This is much the lower scoring ground of the two with there not having been a score in excess of 300 here since the very first game that was staged here.
This will be the 17th ODI on this ground in total and the first since July last year. Bangladesh have won 10 and lost just six of the previous matches on the ground. England have a win and a defeat from their two matches here.
Betting
This should be a tasty decider both for cricketing reasons and emotional ones but it has to be said that everything could be dampened down by the weather. There has been an insane amount of rain in the lead up to the match and plenty more is forecast for during it. That restricts a lot of the betting potential in the game.
If this was guaranteed to be a full 50 over match you would have to back Bangladesh. They should be 2-0 up and have played the better cricket of the two but with England being the short format world finalists my enthusiasm in chancing them isn’t as high as it might otherwise be.
As it is with the game likely to be shortened, if it is played at all, there is a chance to exploit the overs markets with both sides likely to be giving it a bit of slap and tickle from the outset. With that in mind the 54.5 line on England’s opening 10 overs looks a touch on the low side. Run rates will naturally be higher in a shortened game and 5.5 an over with England’s line up isn’t asking too much.
Tips
Back England’s 1st 10 overs – Over 54.5 runs for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Coral
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