Craig Kieswetter smashed a maiden century as England posted a comfortable 45-run win over Bangladesh in the third and final one-day international yesterday to clinch the series 3-0.
Man-of-the-match Kieswetter hit a solid 107 in only his third match to help England post a challenging 284-5 after being put in to bat on a slow track, with 107 runs coming in the last 10 overs.
England paceman Tim Bresnan finished with a career-best 4-28 as Bangladesh scored 239-9. Aftab Ahmed (46), Mushfiqur Rahim (40), skipper Shakib Al Hasan (38) and Mohammad Mahmudullah (34) were the main run-getters.
Debutant paceman Ajmal Shahzad struck with his third delivery to remove Bangladeshi opener Tamim Iqbal, who slashed it to Bresnan at third-man.
Rahim and Ahmed offered some resistance with a 56-run stand for the third wicket, but their dismissals in the space of 29 runs put their team under pressure.
England virtually wrapped up the match when Shakib fell to a dubious leg-before decision while trying to sweep part-time spinner Kevin Pietersen. TV replays suggested the ball would have missed the stumps.
Opener Kieswetter, 22, was earlier in the limelight, hitting three sixes and nine fours in a 123-ball knock to bolster the innings.
He added 74 for the third wicket with Paul Collingwood (36) and 67 for the next with Eoin Morgan (36) after Bangladesh’s spinners threatened to restrict the tourists to a modest total with tight spells in middle overs.
Kieswetter went for big shots after completing his 50 off 80 balls, hitting spinners Mahmudullah and Shakib, and then seamer Rubel Hossain for sixes. He needed just 41 more balls to reach his hundred.
He was bowled while attempting to cut left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak in the 47th over, but not before setting the stage for a late onslaught.
“It’s obviously really nice to get hundred under my belt, especially so early in my career. It’s something I’m going to cherish but the fact that we won the game and the series means a lot to me too,” Kieswetter told reporters.
“I’ve had to adapt mentally, in the first two games I don’t think I was quite tactically aware of how I was going to pace my innings towards helping the team win games,” he said.
Luke Wright made merry in the closing overs, hitting a 13-ball 32 not out with the help of two sixes and as many fours.
Morgan also played a big role in stepping up the run-rate with a 29-ball knock after being dropped twice.
England made an impressive start, with skipper Alastair Cook (32) and Kieswetter putting on 59 for the opening wicket.
Pietersen’s poor run with the bat continued as he contributed 22 before being trapped leg-before by Razzak for a second successive time in the series. He finished the series with 41 runs in three matches.
Morgan was named man of the series.
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