It is still early days at the T20 World Cup, but from what we have seen so far, Eoin Morgan’s England side are well in contention to lift the trophy in November. Arguably, only Pakistan, who recorded an exceptional victory over India, have performed on the same level as this England side, who swatted aside Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi.
Having bowled out the West Indies for just 55 in their opening match, England put in another suffocating performance in the field as they restricted their opponents to 124-9, which provided the platform for an impressive batting display as they reached that target with eight wickets and almost six overs in hand.
The unity of this team performance will have encouraged Morgan, with the bowlers in particular shining as Moeen Ali, once again entrusted with the new ball, bagged two wickets in two consecutive deliveries in the third over.
"Our bowlers have started the tournament really well. It's a huge compliment to how far our white-ball cricket has come along,” the captain told BBC Sport after the victory.
Tymal Mills was in devastating form as he claimed 3-27 and part-time spinner Liam Livingstone also enjoyed a profitable afternoon with 2-15. Adil Rashid secured the catch of the day with a fine diving effort and England’s constant pressure also forced a run-out as Bangladesh struggled to build momentum.
The bowlers enjoyed an impressive day which completely took the pressure off the batsmen, as opener Jason Roy thumped a quick-fire 61 from 38 balls to put his side on the path to a comfortable victory. His partner Jos Buttler scored 18 from 18 before being dismissed while Dawid Malan, who didn’t get to bat in the opening match and whose place in this team at three has been questioned, hit a solid 28 from 25 to secure the win.
"It's nice for Jason and Dawid to get some time at the wicket,” Morgan said. “Jason is so imposing and when you play like that on slow wickets, it makes it difficult to set fields."
Roy, for his commanding performance with the bat, was awarded Player of the Match and was thrilled with how his side have started the tournament.
"That was a very special match for us,” the opener reflected. “We had to back up our last performance against West Indies and we had to come out firing. A lot of credit goes to our bowlers."
Tougher tests will lie ahead, starting with a crunch clash against Australia on Saturday, but this has been an incredibly impressive start for England, who sit top of Group 1. Given their bowlers are, on paper, the weaker part of this team, back-to-back confidence building performances can only benefit them heading into the tougher matches in this tournament. The signs are promising, and so far, Morgan’s side have shown they have what it takes to win this World Cup.
