ICC Champions Trophy 2017: England (Eng) vs Bangladesh (Ban) match prediction

For the first time in a long time, England go into a limited-overs tournament as the favourites. However, with that favourites tag comes pressure, and how they handle that pressure will be interesting to see in this ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

The first sign of England coping with being considered favourites will be seen when they host Bangladesh at The Oval in the CT 2017 opener on Thursday.

Bangladesh are not expected to trouble the big boys too much, but they do have the ability to spring a surprise or two.

Here is a look at how England vs Bangladesh ICC Champions Trophy Match 1 could go.

If England bat first:

There is a bit of cloud cover in the morning, and, as a result, the Bangladesh bowlers get some early movement. That early movement results in Hales edging one through to Mushfiqur Rahim off Mashrafe Mortaza.

However, Roy looks set to make a big score, finding the boundary with a couple of crisp square-drives. Joe Root also comes in and settles in quickly, and the two England right-handers, as the sun slowly starts to come out, put on a big partnership.

The alliance is worth 143 runs, with Roy the man who scores the bulk of those runs. When the England opener falls to Shakib Al Hasan, England are in a really strong position, and all set for a big score.

They do go through a bit of a wobble, though, when Eoin Morgan is also dismissed soon after Roy, but Ben Stokes and Root put on another brilliant partnership, with the latter going on to complete a hundred.

When Flintoff destroyed Bangladesh

Jos Buttler then comes in during the last ten overs, and it is absolute carnage as the Bangladesh bowlers get hit all across the park, with England finishing their innings on 345.

A strong start is absolutely necessary if Bangladesh are to make a game of this, and while the first five overs go well, with Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar spanking a few boundaries, it all goes wrong from there.

Tamim is picked up by Mark Wood in the sixth over, Sarkar falls to Woakes in the next, and while there is a brief partnership between Shakib Al Hasan and Sabbir Rahman, it doesn't last long.

Soon, wickets just fall and fall and Bangladesh are bowled out for 186.

If Bangladesh bat first:

Tamim and Sarkar are off to a fast start, taking 72 runs in the Powerplay overs. Liam Plunkett is the man to break the partnership, by finding a way through the defence of Tamim, with Adil Rashid then coming in and picking up a couple of wickets in an over.

Three down, Bangladesh need a partnership, and they get that through two of their most experienced batsmen – Shakib and Mushfiqur.

The two add 112 runs together, which gives Bangladesh a platform to make a score they can try and defend.

However, while Mahmudullah comes in and makes a quickfire 40, Bangladesh do lose their way a little in the final overs, eventually finishing on 274, when 300 and more looked likely at one point.

That is a similar score to which England failed to breach in the 2015 World Cup, but there is no such drama this time.

Roy and Hales give England the perfect start, Root comes in and plays the anchor role to perfection, and with Morgan, Stokes and Buttler all contributing – Moeen Ali isn't even needed – England reach the target with over five overs to spare.