Shafiul slaps England to defeat

Shafiul Islam raised Bangladesh's World Cup campaign from the dead, as he turned yet another astonishing contest on its head with a breathtaking assault in the batting Powerplay to leave England stunned by their fifth cliffhanger in consecutive contests, and facing their own make-or-break encounter with West Indies in Chennai next week.

In another unbearably tense finale, Bangladesh's ninth-wicket pair of Shafiul and Mahmudullah transformed a futile situation with glorious blaze of strokeplay, as they turned an asking rate of 57 in 62 balls into victory with an over to spare. Though the honour of the winning hit went to Mahmudullah, who belted a Tim Bresnan full-toss through the covers for four to queue pandemonium among the most passionate cricket supporters in the world, it was Shafiul's refusal to accept defeat that ultimately paved the way for glory.

With England closing in on victory, Shafiul's swinging blade turned a bad day for Swann into a dreadful one by leathering his final over for 16, including the only six of the day, over wide long-on. Those brutal blows brought the requirement down to 39 from 48 balls, and brought an abrupt halt to the flow of disgruntled fans who were trooping out of the stadium.

Earlier, Shafiul had been no less effective in his more conventional role as a seamer. Though he had been collared by Matt Prior in his opening three-over burst, his return for the penultimate over more than made amends, as he bowled Ajmal Shahzad with the first ball of his over, before tormenting James Anderson's outside edge with five consecutive reverse-swinging deliveries. His effort ensured a flaccid finish to England's batting, and left the run-chase eminently attainable. What England could have done with some of the lusty hits that he produced.