Roy and Curran star as England seal brilliant series victory over Bangladesh
Under-pressure Jason Roy fired England to a 132 run win over Bangladesh with an outstanding century ahead of the World Cup, with Jos Buttler, Sam Curran and Adil Rashid also starring as the visitors wrapped up a series victory.
Having averaged just 23.91 in ODIs since Buttler took over the captaincy from Eoin Morgan, Roy's spot at the top of the order was looking increasingly shaky for the World Cup with the return of Jonny Bairstow looming large and Dawid Malan outlining his credentials with an excellent match winning hundred in the first ODI against Bangladesh.
However, Roy bounced back in the second ODI as he scored 132 off 124 balls, battling through a difficult early period against left-arm spinners Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam to find some fluency and smash 19 boundaries on his way to a 12th ODI ton. "It wasn't the brute force we might usually associate with Jason Roy," former England bowler Steven Finn said on Sky Sports.
"I think he showed real guile and skill. And like Dawid Malan did in the first ODI, he waited for the Bangladeshi bowlers to come to him. When the ball was in his area, he then showed full commitment to the shots he was playing."
Buttler was typically brilliant as he struck 76 off 64 balls, while all-rounders Moeen Ali and Curran also chipped in with explosive cameos as England posted 326-7 to leave Bangladesh needing to complete their highest ever successful run chase to level the series and force a decider. Moeen smashed 42 off 35 balls, while Curran was even more destructive as he blasted 33 not out off just 19 before also impressing with the ball.
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The 24-year-old, who was named player of the tournament when England won the T20 World Cup last year, was one of two changes they made from the side which went 1-0 up in the series on Wednesday. Curran replaced Chris Woakes, while Saqib Mahmood made his England return after more than a year on the sidelines with a stress fracture of the back as Jofra Archer was rested.
Sam Curran produced an impressive all-round display against Bangladesh (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)And after posting such an imposing total in testing conditions, England defended it expertly with. Curran set the tone after being handed the new ball, dismissing both Litton Das and Najmul Shanto for golden ducks in the first over of Bangladesh's chase and then getting Mushfiqur Rahim caught behind for just four to leave the hosts reeling at 9-3.
The experienced duo of captain Tamim Iqbal and Shakib then looked to rebuild the innings and shared a good partnership of 79, before falling in quick succession. Tamim holed out off Moeen for 35 and Shakib fell tamely to Rashid for a well-made 58, with Bangladesh's hopes of victory departing with them.
Ultimately, the hosts were unable to recover from their poor start, with Rashid particularly outstanding in the middle after Curran's early breakthroughs. Rashid ended with figures of 4-45, moving past Stuart Broad to go third on the list of England's all-time ODI wicket takers in the process.
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