England take on Bangladesh in the opener

The 8th edition of ICC Champions Trophy kicks off on Thursday with the hosts England meeting Bangladesh at Kennington Oval, London and both teams will be seeking to make an impressive start to the tournament to make their passage to the semi-finals that much smoother.

England with home advantage and accustomed with the conditions definitely have an edge against Bangladesh, and the team will be trying to make amends of the past and win an ICC major Trophy for the first time. Many are predicting England to be favourites and lift an ICC Trophy after losing two ICC Champions Trophy finals and also making to the finals in three World Cup finals. The closest they came to a victory in a final was in 2013 when they lost to India by only 5 runs. They are also coming into this tournament riding on the back of eight victories out of nine, the only defeat being against the Proteas in the last of the 3-match series recently.

On paper, England have a superior side, but their top three batsmen have not seen many runs flowing from their bats and Ben Stokes might have to shoulder the responsibility to post a decent score for the hosts. It must be said that skipper Eoin Morgan has been quite successful in the recent ODI-series against South Africa. If England have to bat first, nothing short of 300 runs will put their minds at rest. In the bowling department, a fit Mark Wood could pose a real threat to the Bangladeshi batsmen. An emerging talent in the English dressing room is Jake Ball but whether he can make it to the first eleven is open to question. England now have a more-or-less settled side and barring any injuries Jake Ball may not be preferred over David Willey. The spin attack will be spearheaded by Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, have qualified for this tournament for the first time in 11 years. But with their impressive progress in the last two years in ODIs they are minnows no more and no pushovers either. They are now ranked sixth in the ODI rankings, above three World Cup winning countries – Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies. They could not win the recent three-nation ODI series, the other two teams featuring being Ireland and New Zealand, but they lost only one game in the series. Their first victory against the Kiwis on foreign soil was very inspring and has boosted their spirits ahead of this tournament. Although they were totally outplayed by the defending champions India in the last warm up match, they were extremely unlucky to lose to Pakistan in the previous match. But these matches have given the team an idea as to what they would be up against when they take the field against England.

Tamim Iqbal will be the batsman the team will be looking up to and will also be hoping for useful knocks from the top order consisting of Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib al Hasan. Mustafizur Rahman made a sensational appearance on the world stage during the T20 World Cup just over a year ago and although he was injured for a while, he is one bowler who all opponents will be treating with respect. Rubel Hossain has also been a useful opening ball partner. Then there is the experienced all rounder Shakib al Hasan who also have to make a contribution with his spin bowling which could enthuse the other young talented spinner in the team Mehedi Hasan. Bangladesh will also have to be on their toes in fielding. There is no doubt that the team has shown great improvement in this department but there will be no place for any faltering in this match.

Bangladesh had beaten England in the group stage of World Cup 2015 to send their opponents packing home and themselves advancing to the knockout stage for the first time. England will always have that humiliating defeat at the back of their minds and will go all out to make their mark at home this time round knowing very well that their next opponents are two very strong teams in the group – Australia and New Zealand.

The toss and the conditions could play a vital role in the match. There is no forecast of rain on the day and if Bangladesh have to bat first nothing short of 300 runs will give them any reasonable chance of snatching a victory. If Eoin Morgan wins the toss and elects to bat first, Mashrafe Mortaza and his bowlers will have to make sure that the England batsmen do not get a solid start and would do well if they could restrict the opponents to 250 or less thus making their chase that much easier.

If Bangladesh can notch up a victory against England, they will be eagerly looking forward to their match against the Kiwis on 9th June, 2017 at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff as another victory could put them in the last four of this tournament for the first time. Before that, they face mighty Australia at Kennington Oval on 5th June, 2017.

The Bangladeshi community in the UK has given enthusiastic and whole-hearted support to their national team. Many fans also travelled to Ireland to lend their support in the recent tri-nation series. There is no doubt that these ardent supporters will be in full force in the grounds in all the matches of Bangladesh and hope for an exciting performance from their team. The spectators will no doubt be looking for a treat for their eyes.