England have continued their march towards the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup with their second successive victory - an eight-wicket romp against Bangladesh - in a group one match at Abu Dhabi.
Spinner Moeen Ali (2/18) struck in the powerplay and Tymal Mills (3/27) dominated the death overs to restrict Bangladesh to a below-par 124/9.
Opener Jason Roy then smashed 61 off 38 balls, as England, bidding to become the first team to hold the 50-over and 20-over World Cups at the same time, triumphed with 5.5 overs to spare.
"The bowlers have started the tournament exceptionally well," says captain Eoin Morgan, as England maintained their top spot in the six-team group.
"Again today, very disciplined and backed up with really good catching and ground fielding.
"It's nice for Roy and Dawid [Malan] to get some time at the wicket. The way Jason plays is so imposing.
"When you play like that on a really slow wicket, it's difficult to set fields."
Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat on what skipper Mahmudullah described as a "belter" at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Mahmudullah was soon left to rue that decision, as England reduced Bangladesh to 27/3 after the six powerplay overs.
Moeen has enjoyed operating with the new ball in recent times and the off-spinner was once again in the thick of things, removing both the openers in the third over.
Liton Das offered a top-edge at backward square leg, Mohammad Naim sent the next ball straight to the mid-on fielder and Bangladesh's powerplay woes were not over yet.
Adil Rashid took a tumbling catch running backwards at short fine leg to dismiss Bangladesh's talismanic all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan for four.
Mushfiqur Rahim made a run-a-ball 29, before trying to reverse-sweep Liam Livingstone and getting trapped leg before wicket in the process.
Bangladesh had to wait until the penultimate over for their first six in their innings, when Nasum Ahmed smashed a couple of them against Rashid, although they still fell short of the 125 mark.
England began their chase briskly to snuff out any prospects of an upset in the first ever 20-overs contest between the sides.
Jos Buttler fell for 18, but Roy killed off the contest with his whirlwind knock that included three sixes.
England fielded the same XI that outplayed defending champions West Indies.
"We were disappointed with the batting," says Mahmudullah, after Bangladesh slumped to their second successive defeat in the Super 12 stage.
"It was a good wicket, but we didn't start well and didn't have any partnerships in the middle either."
England face Ashes rivals Australia in their next match on Sunday, while Bangladesh meet West Indies on Saturday.
Nambia chase modest total to pip Scotland
A stunning opening burst from seamer Ruben Trumpelmann and an unbeaten 32 by JJ Smit down the order has helped Namibia secure a nervy four-wicket win over Scotland in their group one encounter in Abu Dhabi.
Set a modest 110 for victory, Namibia made heavy weather of the chase, losing wickets at key moments on a tricky pitch before Smit and David Wiese (16) did just enough to get them over the line with five balls to spare.
It was Scotland's second straight defeat following their crushing loss to Afghanistan on Tuesday (NZ time), effectively ending their hopes of making the semi-finals with New Zealand, India and Pakistan still to come.
"Delighted to get another World Cup win, we were emotional coming from the first group and we managed to put in another good performance... with that score we had a clear gameplan and luckily with two partnerships we got home," says Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus.
Scotland could never really recover after left-arm quick Trumpelmann (3/17) ripped their top-order with three wickets in the first over of the innings. Wiese (1/22) later removed Craig Wallace (4) as Scotland ended the powerplay on 22/4.
"I was nervous out there, but I thought, it's the World Cup, so why not enjoy it. I use swing as a weapon up front, so luckily it went my way today. We hope to win a few more, but this is massive for us," says Trumpelmann, who was named player of the match.
Erasmus adds: "Ruben sets high standards. By his own admission he hasn't hit the straps but very delighted that he came out here and executed. That allowed us to start well and throw the first punch."
Michael Leask (44) briefly threatened to salvage the innings but had his stumps rattled by Smit (1/20) just as he was preparing to mount a late assault before Chris Greaves (25) made sure that Scotland crossed the 100-run mark, finishing on 109/8.
Scotland skipper Richard Berrington rued the lack of partnerships after their shocking start, saying that they were 20-30 runs short.
"I thought Leask and (Matthew) Cross played well. 120 would have given us a better chance. It was important we put the Afghanistan game behind us. We were confident today but we didn't execute," he says.
Namibia next face Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, while Scotland take on New Zealand in Dubai on November 3.
Reuters
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