England’s Eoin Morgan celebrates. (Source: AP)
After Joe Root scored an unbeaten 133 against Bangladesh, England registered a thumping win in the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy. Courtesy of his knock England recorded the highest ever successful run chase in Champions Trophy after the 294 which was chased by Sri Lanka. Now we take a look at the five talking points from the chase.
Joe Root’s come back to form
Joe Root’s knock is highly crucial for England as they are highly dependant on him. In his innings of 133, he pulled, drove and cut with panache. He also picked the gaps in the field to perfection. For England, his form will be a big boost ahead of the knockout stages of the tournament.
Jason Roy continues to fail
Jason Roy has been offered chances after chances by skipper Eoin Morgan. However, he has failed to repay the faith. Incidentally, this was his fifth single digit score and it is time for England to look at other options.
Woeful bowling form Bangladesh
The Bangla Tigers were let down by their bowling and left a lot to be desired. Their spin department was supposed to be the threat but they failed to pick up wickets in the middle overs and were futile in their attempts to maintain a consistent line and length. Skipper Mashrafe Mortaza said,”We could not get wickets in the middle overs. Root batted pretty well and took the game away from us.”
Tamim Iqbal hundred
Tamim Iqbal slammed the first hundred of the tournament and ended up with 128 off 142 balls. He began cautiously and then up the ante towards the end of the innings. However, it was a little too late as Banglaesh failed to get the thrust towards the end of the innings.
300 plus scored by both teams
Even after scoring 305, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza acknowledged that it wasn’t enough. From the start of the tournament we have seen both the teams notch up a score of 300 plus. If this is the trend then Champions Trophy 2017 will surely be a run fest.
