Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India] : Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar on Tuesday made a prediction for the ICC Cricket World Cup match between defending champions England and Bangladesh, saying that even though the latter has a decent seam attack and spinner who can exploit sub-continental surfaces, the sheer strength and depth of English batting should be enough for the former to prevail.
England and Bangladesh will lock horns at the picturesque HPCA stadium in Dharamshala on Tuesday. While England lost their first match to New Zealand by nine wickets, Bangladesh won their campaign opener against Afghanistan by six wickets.
“England’s man-to-man and overall ability of the team makes them superior. Dharamshala will be suitable for them conditions-wise. They got blown away in their first match and were tactically not at their best. But I do not see Bangladesh man-to-man, as well as a team that will beat England. Strange things happen in sports. The batting depth that England has itself should be enough against Bangladesh, who have nice seamers, and spinners to exploit the conditions. But the powerhouse batting of England will be overwhelming for Bangladesh,” said Manjrekar on Star Sports.
England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.
Bangladesh squad: Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Kumer Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto (vc), Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.