2017 ICC Champions Trophy: Harbhajan Singh Congratulates England After Victory Over Bangladesh 1

India’s veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has congratulated England after the ICC Champions Trophy hosts began their campaign with a comprehensive win over Bangladesh at the Oval on Thursday (June 1).

Chasing an imposing 306, the home side did not start their innings as they would have wanted as out-of-form Jason Roy departed after scoring just 1. However, a mammoth 159-run partnership between Alex Hales and Joe Root not only steadied the ship but also laid the foundation for the chase. The big partnership came to an end when Mustafizur Rahman accounted for the dangerous Hales for 95. But Bangladesh’s hopes of making an unlikely comeback in the match was soon quashed courtesy of another brilliant partnership between Root and Eoin Morgan. The duo played their shots freely and shared an unbeaten partnership of 143 runs to steer England home with over two overs remaining. Root was adjudged the Man of the Match for his brilliant knock of 133 which was studded with 11 fours and a maximum. Captain Morgan also led from the front, scoring 75 off just 61 balls as England chased down the total without any trouble.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, were powered to a huge total courtesy of fine knocks by Tamim Iqbal an Mushfiqur Rahim. Mushfiqur joined Tamim when the score was 95 for 2 in the 20th over and laid the foundation for the big total by adding a record-166 runs for the third wicket.

With English bowlers bowling a disciplined line, both the batsmen looked content to rotate the strike but began unleashing the big shots once the partnership went past the 100-run mark. Rahim was the more adventurous of the two, playing big shots on a consistent basis to reach his fifty in only 48 balls. Tamim also got into his groove as the game progressed and completed his fifty off 124 balls in the 39th over.

With 259 runs on the board and eight wickets still in hand, Bangladesh had the opportunity to finish on a strong note. However, their hopes of doing the same was quashed when Rahim and Tamim were dismissed by Liam Plunkett on consecutive deliveries. The England pacer, who had also dismissed opener Soumya Sarkar, was not done yet and dismissed the dangerous Shabbir Rahman who was batting on 24 off 14 balls to not allow the Asian country finish on a strong note.

After the match, Harbhajan, who is currently in UK as India’s ICC Brand Ambassador,  took to Twitter to congratulate England as well as the top performers from the either sides.

“Congratulations @ECB_cricket for beating @BCBtigers in the first game of @ICC champions trophy 2017 #TamimIqbal ⭐️@root66 ⭐️ @Liam628 ⭐️,” the Turbanator tweeted.