Formidable hosts England and an ambitious Bangladesh side will take on each other to commence the Champions Trophy 2017 at the Kennington Oval, London. Understandably, the two sides do not seem similar at all. The hosts are a powerful bunch of individuals while the challengers are just about optimistic about their chances surviving on the hopes of creating some turnaround.
England’s recent form and their ODI reputation suggest they will be the stronger side tomorrow without any second thoughts. But, in a knockout tournament like Champions Trophy, each and every game counts and no opponent are meant to be underestimated.
England would be well aware of this fact and will test Bangladesh’s growing limited overs standards greatly.
This will also be England’s opportunity to take a winning step forward in their quest of living up to the tag of favourites. In the past couple of years, England’s limited overs side has turned from being a humble challenger to a ruthless unit capable of doing all sort things on the field.
Starting from tomorrow, the coming few weeks will tell us if the enhanced ODI qualities of the Poms are really worthy of winning multi-nation tournaments or just capable of showmanship and promises.
Bangladesh who is making a return to this event after a 10-year gap has undergone a massive change. The emergence of promising talent has earned them the respect that they were craving for at the world stage. They can at least be assured of not being taken lightly by any opposition.
Overview
England may be bullish about the opening clash, but they need to be wary of committing any slip up that could probably hurt their chances. The preparatory ODI series against South Africa was largely successful but the batting downfall in the final ODI exposed a weakness that the competitors may exploits.
Morgan’s frustration over the grassy wicket at Lord’s clearly indicates that against a quality fast bowling, even the might of the so-called new-age English batting line-up is vulnerable.
Bangladesh will bank on its bowling attack to gain some edge over the hosts. The current attack has the unpredictable tendency to trouble the best can be a huge plus point the Bangla tigers and slight source of England.
Tracking the Strengths
It will be England’s batting v Bangladesh’s bowling.
England’s batting runs deep and the top six will be expected to come out with a ballistic approach. Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali will be the key men.
Ben Stokes and his fitness still remains unconfirmed. In case, he misses out, which will be a bad thing, England will likely play with the same XI that played the final ODI of the three matches bilateral series against South Africa a couple of days ago.
If he is declared fit, Bangladesh has more reasons to worry considering the all – round form he enjoying at the moment.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, will have the likes of Mustafizur and Taskin ready to prove their worth. If these two manage to gain some important early breakthrough, the contest would turn into a mouth-watering spectacle.
Prediction
Bangladesh cannot fancy an upset regardless of the bowling strengths. The odds of puncturing the English batting order in their own backyards seem to be very less.
To conclude, England will have a strong winning start to their campaign