Another controversial run out

If England were to get close to their target, it was always likely that Ian Bell would have to contribute a major portion of the runs. He seemed to be on course, too, as he complied an untroubled half-century. But Rubel Hossain, generating good pace, produced one that was on to Bell quicker than he anticipated. His attempted square drive instead became a thin edge to the keeper. Bangladesh were elated, England were shell-shocked and they never really regained their equilibrium.

The decision to give Chris Jordan run out probably ended any lingering hopes England may have had. Jordan had over-committed to a run that was never there, but seemed to have regained his ground with a dive that beat Shakib Al Hasan's throw. But replays showed that Jordan's bat had bounced as it hit the ground and, while it was well past the line, partially in the air. It took the TV umpire, Simon Fry, an age to decide. Whether you agree with him or not might depend on whether you were siding with England or Bangladesh.

England's decision to bowl after winning the toss may well have proved costly. While the logic - that there might be some moisture in the pitch after rain in the morning - was reasonable, it also meant they were guaranteed to chase under pressure. For a side that was low on confidence and knew that their World Cup future was at stake, it was an odd risk.

There was not much wrong with the delivery. But, such was Mahmudullah's form and confidence, that the full ball from Stuart Broad was driven, on the up, over extra cover for four with tremendous power. Taking a step back to give himself room, it was a stroke that bore the hallmark of real class.

In other circumstances, Mahmudullah's stroke off Chris Woakes - a bludgeoned shot which saw the batsman skip down the pitch and pull through midwicket - might have presented an easy catch. But here, with a 54-metre boundary towards the west side of the ground, the shot carried for six despite traveling no more than 54 metres and a few centimetres. Sometimes the battle between bat and ball looks unequal.

Perhaps, had Moeen Ali batted for 20 overs or so, England would have made such inroads into their target that their nerves would have eased. Instead, Moeen ran himself out in the eighth over of their reply as he pushed the ball to mid-on and skipped halfway down the pitch. Perhaps Ian Bell was guilty of ball watching, perhaps Moeen just presumed that Soumya Sarkar would not gather cleanly. Either way, by the time Moeen realised and turned to attempt to regain his ground, Sarkar had unleashed an accurate throw and Mushfiqur Rahim did the rest.

It took only four deliveries for England to gain reward for a more aggressive approach. Whereas in recent matches they have tended to start with two slips, here they began with three and soon increased the number to four. James Anderson, bowling at a much sharper pace than he has in recent games, benefited in the first over when Imrul Kayes was surprised by the extra bounce and edged to third slip where Jordan, winning a recall in place of Steven Finn partly due to his superior fielding, claimed a smart catch.

Just for a moment, the crowd thought that Mushfiqur's marvellous innings had been ended on 78 as he thrashed a full toss from Woakes to long-on. They had not noticed the umpire's call of no ball, however, as Woakes had over-stepped. It might well have been a no ball on the basis of being over waist height, too.

It had seemed for some time that none of England's bowlers would defeat Mahmudullah. Eventually, after becoming the first Bangladesh batsman to make a World Cup century, he was defeated by a direct hit from short third man. Reacting to Mushfiqur's call for a sharp single - Mushfiqur had cut the ball late behind square - Mahmudullah responded quickly, but was defeated by Woakes' direct hit.