England vs Bangladesh T20 World Cup preview: Eoin Morgan’s side favourites to win Group A encounter

England play Bangladesh on Wednesday 11am (BST) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, in the second Super 12 Group A match for both teams.

These two famous cricketing nations have never faced each other in a T20 International and both sides come into this matchup with differing levels of confidence.

England the favourites

Eoin Morgan’s England will be expecting to win after their dominant six-wicket victory over reigning champions West Indies, bowling the 2016 winners out for a mere 55.

It was an impressive display by England’s spinners as Moeen Ali finished with figures of 2-17 while Adil Rashid ended with joint best figures in T20, taking two wickets for just four runs.

Despite a less than inspiring run chase, opener Jos Butler top scoring with 24 not out, Morgan won’t be fazed as world No 1 T20 batsman Dawid Malan was unused after a shift in the batting line-up.

What about Bangladesh?

Although Sir Lanka beat Bangladesh by five wickets, they can take some positives from the defeat, mainly their batting. The Tigers scored 171 as the in-form Mohammed Naim scored 62, recording his second fifty of the tournament, as his side had to play in the previous qualifying rounds.

Naim’s and Mushfiqur Rahim’s half-centuries came in vain as Charith Asalanka crunched 80 not out for Sri Lanka in their destructive run chase.

Captain Mahmudullah came under criticism for bowling himself for two expensive overs, conceding 21 runs, and will know that he and his side won’t be able to afford any mishaps against a strong England side.

Taskin Ahmed may be included for the Tigers with the pitch being more suited to seamers.

Elsewhere, England will be boosted by the return of seamer Mark Wood, who missed their opening victory due to an ankle injury, but is unlikely to be included, especially after his team’s dominant display with the ball.

It might not be a must win for Bangladesh, yet another defeat will make qualification for the semi-finals an extremely tough order. England will be expecting to win this game and with the talent in their side, it should be another victory to keep them top of Group A.