World Cup 2023, Match 7: England take on Bangladesh in Dharamsala - Preview and result prediction

Fresh off the drubbing against New Zealand in the first match at Ahmedabad,defending champions England will take the field in Dharamsala on Tuesday (Oct10) to get their World Cup campaign back on track. Amid all the hype of reinventing the wheel, England failed to stick to their strategy of going big from the beginning - a mistake that Jos Buttler's men would hope to correct when they face a resurgent Bangladesh.

Dharmsala with its unique geographical location possesses a different challenge than the rest of the venues. Located at a height of 1,457 metres, the ball nips through in the thin air while the batters can rely on the true bounce of the pitch.

The altitude and the climate might aid England who will feel at home, after suffering in the furnace-hot conditions of Ahmedabad. Several English batters appeared to rush through their shots in the first match, despite getting starts, which eventually led to the below-par score which was chased with much ease by the Kiwi batters.

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Meanwhile, Bangladesh will rely on captain Shakib Al-Hasan to once again do the heavy lifting. One of the most underrated all-rounders of the generation, Shakib has been the pillar of Bangladesh cricket and despite the off-field controversies, he is expected to engineer another World Cup triumph, especially against the English side.

Shakib was there when the Bangla Tigers flattened the Three Lions in Chittagong in 2011 as well as Adelaide, in 2015. Thus, England will be on high alert coming into the contest and not take the Bangladesh challenge lightly.

What the teams said:

England skipper Jos Buttler ahead of the match expressed unhappiness towards the Dharmsala outfield but added that his team will not use it as an excuse but adapt to it.

"It's good for us to have had a couple of really good days in preparation. We're desperate to get out and put in a good performance. We know we didn't play as well in the last game and we're always desperate to put that right, both individually and as a team," he added.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh spin bowling coach Rangana Herath said:"To be honest, 10 out of 10 [rating for Shakib and Mehidy Hasan's bowling]. They read the pitch well. They analysed which line and length they needed to bowl. And they had a very attacking field setting as well. I'm 100% happy with how they bowled actually."

Result prediction:

Despite Bangladesh being aware of the Indian conditions, England will have the upper hand in the game courtesy of the 'Himalayan' venue. If England batters are able to manoeuvre the Bangladeshi spinners well in the middle overs, theymight be in for a favourable result.

Predicted Playing XIs:

According to Dav Whatmore, the World Cup-winning coach with Sri Lanka in 1996 and WION's in-house expert, the potential XIs are expected to look like this:

England XI: JonnyBairstow, DawidMalan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Bangladesh XI:L. Das, Tanzid Hasan, Nazgûl Shanto, Shakib Al-Hasan,Mehidy Hasan Miraz,Mushfiqur Rahim, Towhid Hridoy, Mahamadullah, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman

Match-upsto watch out for:

Malan v Mustafizur
Root v Shoriful
Stokes v Mehidy Hasan Miraz
Lipton Das v M. Wood
Sakib v M. Ali

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