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Bangladesh v England second T20 preview: England aim to keep series alive

Having been beaten by four wickets in the opener in Chittagong, England will hope to keep their T20I series in Bangladesh alive by winning in Mirpur on Sunday.

The tourists went into the 20-over action on the back of a 2-1 one-day series success, but their defeat in the final ODI match was followed up by a fairly comprehensive loss in the T20 opener, as the Tigers got home with two overs to spare.

WhatBangladesh v England, second T20I
WhereSher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur
When09:00, Sunday 12th March
How to watchSky Sports Cricket & Main Event
OddsBangladesh 7/4, England 4/9

Top-order runs crucial for tourists

England looked well set for a big total in Chittagong as Phil Salt and skipper Jos Buttler put on an opening stand of 80, with the latter top-scoring with 67 from 42 balls faced.

However, after Salt departed to the final ball of the 10th over, the Three Lions could only muster a further 76 runs for the loss of five further wickets across the second half of their innings.

That performance does give concern for the two remaining games, even if the tourists are 4/9 to level the series and set up a decisive finale in Mirpur on Tuesday.

Changes may have been made to switch things up, with England having had four left-handers in a row in their batting order as they lost in Chittagong, but there are no other options among their squad with both Will Jacks and Tom Abell having withdrawn due to injury.

That only serves to heap pressure on captain Buttler, but he is in fine form in T20 cricket, having made four 50s in his last eight innings and is 21/10 to be Team - Top Batter on Sunday.

More will also be expected of Dawid Malan, who has made scores of 11, 0 and 4 since his crucial unbeaten 114 in the first ODI in Bangladesh - he is 7/2 to be Team - Top Batter in Mirpur.

Spin option could be explored

England’s seamers found the going tough in Chittagong, as the tourists appeared to have not quite got their selection right by including Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan, Chris Woakes and Sam Curran.

All of that quintet went for at least eight runs an over and Buttler may want to see what leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed can do in the shortest form of the game.

The teenager took 7-137 on his Test debut against Pakistan just before Christmas and 1-62 against the Tigers on his ODI debut earlier this month and can be backed at 6/1 to be Team - Top Bowler on Sunday.

His more experienced spin colleagues Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali are available at 4/1 and 15/2 respectively.

Should Rehan be drafted in, it is likely that one of either Wood or Archer will be rested after only recently returning to action after injury lay-offs.

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Tigers could find it hard to back it up

Bangladesh were hugely impressive in their T20I series opener win, making 158-4 to clinch victory with 12 balls to spare as their left-handers fired - Najmul Hossain Shanto making 51 and skipper Shakib Al Hasan finishing things off with an unbeaten 34.

However, that was only their third Twenty20 international win in their last 10 matches and just their second in their last seven T20Is played on home soil.

So, the challenge now is to try and replicate that performance in Mirpur, where all-rounder Shakib is 10/3 to be Team - Top Batter and 15/2 to be named Player of the Match.

However, Shanto at 7/2 to be Team - Top Batter may be the better option as he has made scores of 71, 21, 54 and 51 in his last four T20I innings.

Shakib is also likely to play a major role with the ball on Sunday, having taken 1-26 from his four overs in the series opener and having an overall record of 53 wickets at an economy rate of 6.65 from his previous 43 T20I appearances on home soil.

He is 3/1 to be Team - Top Bowler on Sunday, while seamer Taskin Ahmed is 9/2 to lead the way for the home attack, having been the leading wicket-taker for Bangladesh at the T20 World Cup late last year.

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