With this victory, England clinched the series 3-0.

Out-of-form Aftab Ahmed showed a little ray of hope for the upcoming test series by showing some tremendous stroke play as he scored the innings’ highest 46 with seven boundaries.

Apart from Aftab, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib al Hasan, Mahmudullah were among the run scorers as they scored 40, 38 and 34 respectively.

Tim Bresnan was the most successful English bowler as he bagged four wickets. Ajmal Shahzad, Graeme Swann and Kevin Pietersen all took one each.

Earlier, England scored 284 for 5 wickets, thanks to a magnificent inning of 107 by Craig Kieswetter. It was his maiden ODI hundred as well.

Tigrers elected to field after winning the toss.

England entered the match with the series secured while for the tigers the encounter is a chance to push for a consolatory win. The tigers are hoping for a positive performance ahead of the Test series, Cricinfo reports.

Both the teams will be viewing the game as valuable practice ahead of the World Cup in a year’s time, where they will meet again at the same venue.

This is the first day game of the series so the dew factor, which hindered Bangladesh a little in Mirpur, won’t be a factor in this match. The wicket at Chittagong has a reputation of assisting the spinners, which will also suit the home side.

With Ryan Sidebottom, Stuart Broad and Graham Onions all injured, Ajmal Shahzad is set to become the third England debutant in as many matches, while Liam Plunkett also comes into the team in place of James Tredwell.

Bangladesh: 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Aftab Ahmed, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib al Hasan (capt), 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Naeem Islam, 8 Suhrawadi Shuvo, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Rubel Hossain

England: 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Craig Kieswetter, 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Luke Wright, 8 Ajmal Shahzad, 9 Tim Bresnan, 10 Graeme Swann, 11 Liam Plunkett

Earlier, Bangladesh scored 260 runs losing six wickets in 50 overs. Mushfiq top scored with 77. Tamim Iqbal 30 , Imrul Kayes 63, Aftab Ahmed 4, Mushfiqur Rahim 76, Shakib Al Hasan 14, Mahmudullah 27, Naeem Islam 18, Suhrawadi Shuvo 14. Bowling: Abdur Razzak 3/52, Shakib al Hasan 3/32.

England skipper Alastair Cook won the toss and decided to field first.

The state-run Bangladesh Television (BTV) and satellite TV channel SuperSport has been telecasting the match live from the venue.

The visitor is now leading the three-match series by 2-0 that beat Bangladesh by six wickets in the first match on February 28 at the same venue.

The 3rd match will take place at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on March 5.

Bangladesh: Shakib al Hasan (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Aftab Ahmed, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Naeem Islam, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain.

England: Alastair Cook (captain), Craig Kieswetter, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wk), Luke Wright, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell.

The tickets for today’s match will be available at the booth of the SBNS from 9am.

Bangladesh wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim was hopeful of an improved batting show. ‘We will try to put on a good score if we bat first and I think 270 or 280 run will be enough for a victory, I believe the Bangladesh batsmen have the ability to achieve the score,’ said Mushfiq.

Mushfiq was quick to point out the deficiencies in the Bangladesh batting line-up. ‘You see one of the batsmen stands up rock solid but the others fail to play properly, we need at least three good contributions to a win a game, we have been talking about the problems and hope that we can overcome them.’

The dominance of Tamim Iqbal was so high that the adjudicators had no choice but to award him the man of the match award despite being on the losing side. The rest of the batsmen did not contribute much as usual. The shaky-looking middle-order may rally around skipper Sakib-al-Hasan. Aftab Ahmed will need to get a big score if he wishes to seal his berth in place of Mohammad Ashraful.

Mushfiq denied they were under pressure ahead of the crucial match that will turn out as a series decider. ‘We are not thinking of anything else, our main target will be to put up a good show,’ said Mushfiq.

Apart from the batting, Bangladesh also missed a couple of chances in fielding as well and Mushfiq was the man to miss those chances behind the wicket. He himself admitted his fault and vowed not to do the same mistakes.

‘With the score, it was not worthy to miss those chances. Hope, the error won’t be repeated,’ he promised.

The vice-captain also rated Kevin Petersen and Paul Collingwood as the dangermen for Bangladesh but termed their spin attack is better than the English.

‘They actually have got match winning batsmen in Kevin Petersen and Paul Collingwood.
Petersen has been in patchy form but Collingwood is in brilliant form now. We’ve to check them well. But our spinners are better than them. That’s our advantage in fact,’ he opined.

Alastair Cook had a good start to his captaincy with a well-compiled a half-century. Kevin Pietersen, believed to be the best batsman of England, will look for a big score. Craig Kieswetter was probably nervous on his debut, but could still be the man to look out for, as would be Eoin Morgan who did not have too much to do in the first game.

However, Cook was looking to improve despite the victory in the opener. ‘It’s important to start quickly as when the ball gets softer on these wickets it’s harder to get a movement. Colly (Paul Collingwood) keeps delivering the goods at crucial times. But this is just one game out of three and there are still a few areas we can improve on.’

The new captain of England was also hoping that his bowlers would produce an attacking atmosphere in today’s game.

Earlier, Bangladesh scored a moderate score of 228 runs losing all wickets in 45.4 overs against visiting England in the first ODI match of the three-match series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday.

Despite losing wickets in regular intervals, Tigers managed to reach a respectable score courtesy of Tamim Iqbal’s magnificent innings of 125 runs.

Tamim hit 13 boundaries and three maximums in his inning.

Apart from Tamim, Naeem Islam and Mushfiqur Rahim are the batsmen who contributed a little to Bangladesh innings by scoring 25 and 22 respectively.

English spinner Graeme Swann was at the peak of the bowlers as he bagged three wickets for 32 runs. Pacer Stuart Broad picked two and Ryan Sidebottom, Tim Bresnan and Luke Wright took one each.

Earlier, England skipper Alastair Cook won the toss and invited Bangladesh to bat first.

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Aftab Ahmed, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Naeem Islam, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Shafiul Islam, Abdur Razzak.

England: Alastair Cook (captain), Craig Kieswetter, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wk), Luke Wright, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Ryan Sidebottom.

One should get a positive answer if he or she takes the words from the young Bangladesh skipper who made a bold statement ahead of the first one-day of the three match series to be held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur tomorrow.

There was no shortage of confidence while captain Shakib and coach Jamie Siddons spoke about their chances against a new-look England side during a pre-match press conference at Mirpur yesterday. Both have considered the favourable home conditions and their recent graph of improvement to think big about the series. Shakib was very much confident that it is not unlikely for them to win their first international match against England, the only major force they have yet to conquer.

“Yes, we are still winless in this year after two series’ but it’s possible to win matches against England if we can play as per our ability. Realistically at least we can win one game; hopefully even two,” said a confident Shakib, whose side lost all the matches this year but played some decent cricket against formidable opponents like India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

“It’s a better team than the one which played the home series back in 2003. And in home conditions we are a very good side and as always we have the opportunity to win the match,” he added.

Shakib also said that they have a good chance to win the first match against England as the visitors are missing some of their key players in the series. “It’s an inexperienced side but definitely the new players will also try their best to cement their position in the team but what I believe is that the conditions may favour us”.

The Bangladesh captain informed that the wicket will be different from the tri-nation tournament.

“In the tri-nation the ball was coming on to the bat nicely but hopefully this time the pitch will offer low bounce and the ball will come to the bat late as we desire. We have a decent spin attack which I believe can play a big role in the series while as far as I know they (England) have only one good spinner in their arsenal,” Shakib said explaining the advantage they can enjoy during the series.

Coach Jamie Siddons also echoed his captain’s sentiment. “We are hoping that the conditions out here will undo them.”

The Australian also painted a positive picture of his team’s recent performance against the top-ranked sides.

“Two guys in New Zealand played really well in grassy conditions. In the tri-nation against India and Sri Lanka we were very good, and was probably beaten by the dew a couple of times. In our condition we played really well. We are a developing team, a team that is growing in confidence,” said Siddons.

“The last twelve months we have been going through a really good time. I think we are still a team of 22-23 year olds. But we are getting better, not having those bad patches. We are putting good scores on the board and our bowlers are developing. [Shakib] is probably the best or second best spin bowler in the world. Tamim Iqbal is playing beautifully at the top of the order and a couple of really good bowlers are bowling 135 kilometres and over. So we are a better team than what we were,” he added.

The Bangladesh coach also said that England would need to play their best cricket to beat his side.

“England need to be at their best to beat us. I guess a couple of key players may be the difference. But we will wait and see,” he said when asked about the absence of some key players like Andrew Strauss.

Responding to a question about Mohammad Ashraful’s omission, Siddons said: “I spoke to Ash after the New Zealand series; he was talking about having a rest. Not sure what happened over the last three or four days. But Ash has made that decision and I respect that. He is a little diamond in the rough that we are looking to. He needs to step up to come along with, Tamim, Shakib, Mushfique and Riyad. Those guys have really stepped up and now we need Ash to fill the gap and then we will be a formidable batting team.”

Left-hand opening batsman Alastair Cook is leading the team in both one-dayers and Tests in absence of regular skipper Andrew Strauss who opted to take a break in order to concentrate on the upcoming tours.

On their arrival, the English team left the airport straight for the hotel and refused to speak to the media. However, it was learnt that they would hold an official media briefing on the 27th, the day before the first one-day international. They have also called off today’s scheduled practice session.

The tour will kick off with a limited-overs warm-up game against the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI on February 23 at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium where the second one-day warm-up game will also be held on February 25.

The first two one-day internationals, both day-nighters, will be held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. The teams will then travel to Chittagong to play the third one-day international and the first Test beside a three-day warm-up game. The second Test will be held at Mirpur.

England arrived here from the United Arab Emirates where they played two Twenty20 internationals against current world champions Pakistan, winning the first one and losing the last. On the other hand, hosts Bangladesh also arrived yesterday from a month-long tour of New Zealand where they played one T20, three one-dayers and one Test and lost all of them.

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Earlier, New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori declared their second innings on 258 for five, setting up Bangladesh with a daunting target of 404.

The Bangladeshi batsmen, all five of them to fall so far, were guilty of throwing their wickets away under pressure on a wicket that still was a very good one for batting on the fourth day of the one-off Test in Hamilton.

Tamim Iqbal gave them the opening, slogging to long off where a back-pedaling Daryl Tuffey took an important catch. The remainder of the top-order folded feebly under pressure, with New Zealand hot on attack in the final session.

Skipper Shakib Al Hasan and wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim have barely arrived at the crease, and the next man in is Mahmudullah Riyad, centurion of the first innings. Barring the possibility of a rain, Bangladesh will need something miraculous from these three to avoid defeat on the final day.

Cricinfo adds: a sedate second innings from New Zealand saw the hosts ambling to 228 for 5 at tea before a four over post-break burst from Brendon McCullum brought about the declaration, with his side 403 runs in the clear. It capped a strong finish to the innings that was initially tied down by Shafiul Islam and Shahadat Hossain, who choked the overnight pair of Peter Ingram and Tim McIntosh at the start of the day. Both batsmen seemed nervy under the pressure exerted, which eventually brought about the debutant’s dismissal, run out, backing up too far for an attritional 13.

Shakib employed sweepers and a fine leg for most of the day, intent on keeping boundaries to a bare minimum. He was largely successful, with only nine fours coming in the morning session, a rare sedate passage of play that stood out in a match that had until then featured an assortment of stunning strokeplay.

Runs were easier to come by after lunch for the hosts, but only marginally so. Tim McIntosh and Martin Guptill exploited the gaps in the infield to keep the scoreboard ticking, occasionally springing to life to loft bad deliveries for six.

Bangladesh had a mixed day in the field, effecting two run outs and defending the boundaries energetically, but were woeful with their catching, spilling two chances off McIntosh and one off Guptill who remained unbeaten. Guptill’s knock summed up the afternoon quite nicely for New Zealand, with thirty-two singles, three twos and three sixes making up his 56. McCullum hustled a quick 19 after tea, taking New Zealand to 258 for 5 before Vettori called the innings to a close.

Tamim played as he has for much of the tour, attacking without reservation. The opener was scintillating through the off side, stroking four consecutive boundaries in a Tim Southee over. Once again however, he was unable to kick on for the long haul, and holed out to mid on after hitting five fours and a six in a 30-run cameo.

Zunaed Siddiqui followed soon after, bizarrely bowled by Chris Martin when the ball struck the glove to loop over the clueless batsman, onto the stumps. That had the visitors wobbling at 58 for 2, and the dismissals of Aftab Ahmed, Mohammed Ashraful and Imrul Kayes in quick succession left the hosts with little to do on the final day.

The two batsmen shared a record seventh wicket partnership of 145 runs to rescue their side from a precarious situation of 196 for six to before Shakib Al Hasan fell to a controversial caught behind decision 13 runs short of what would have been a richly deserved maiden hundred. His partner Mahmudullah did get his though as he helped Bangladesh get past 400 the mark. His dismissal at 115 brought the end nearer as Bangladesh were bundled out for 408 giving the hosts a 145 run lead with a few tricky overs to negotiate. New Zealand batted for five overs before bad light intervened, but lost the wicket of BJ Watling, to finish 154 ahead at stumps.

Earlier in the day, the New Zealand seamers, supported by the ever-threatening Daniel Vettori had run rampant, demolishing the touring top order by picking up five wickets for 127 runs in the first session. Chris Martin and Tim Southee set the tone early, bowling a niggardly line and length to induce fatal errors from the overnight pair. Tamim Iqbal’s innings retained little of the breathtaking panache from the previous evening, and he was out to a Southee delivery that was not short enough to pull. The remainder of the Bangladesh top order crumbled spinelessly under the relentless pressure, and things looked bleak going in to lunch at 211 for 6.

The New Zealand captain had the cushion of runs to play with, and it showed. The slip cordon was jam-packed for the seamers all morning, and a veritable swarm of close-in catchers encircled the Bangladesh batsmen while the spinners were in operation. The familiar Bangladesh collapse that ensued suggested that the match was heading to yet another embarrassing defeat for the tourists, but Shakib and Mahmudullah were on hand to arrest the slide and save face for Bangladesh.

Both batsmen were circumspect at the start of their partnership, seeing off testing spells from Chris Martin and Daryl Tuffey, before being spurred into action by the introduction of spin from both ends. Using their feet to negate the gentle turn on offer, the pair flayed the slow bowlers to all corners in the afternoon session. A series of powerful drives was punctuated with lovely instances of deft touch, Shakib in particular using the lap-sweep and the scoop shot productively. Jeetan Patel was the primary victim of the duo’s assault, ending wicketless in the innings after having conceded 53 runs in 10 overs.

Chris Martin broke the resistance soon after tea with the second new ball, though replays showed that Shakib’s under-edge bounced well short of Brendon McCullum, who claimed the catch instantly. It was an unfortunate end to a special innings from Shakib, who had overseen Bangladesh’s rescue-operation only to fall in sight of a well deserved maiden ton. Mahmudullah however, was not to be denied and, reached the landmark soon after Shakib’s departure with a boundary to square leg. He was eventually trapped in front by Daniel Vettori for a fantastic 115, while the rest of the tail perished around him. Bangladesh were all out for 408, their sixth highest total in Test matches, but still 145 runs adrift of New Zealand’s first innings score.

The New Zealanders then batted out five overs of spirited bowling from the Bangladesh seamers, who created enough pressure to have BJ Watling brilliantly run out by Shakib for 1. The hosts are still well in control of the test match, ending the day effectively at 154 for 1, but Bangladesh showed encouraging signs of fight, and will hope for early wickets tomorrow if they are to challenge a New Zealand, who will hope they have seen the best that their opponents have to offer