Kieswetter ton seals series victory

Imrul Kayes ducks to avoid a Bresnan bouncer as England cruise to a series whitewash [AFP]

Opener Craig Kieswetter blasted his maiden one-day century as England cruised to a 3-0 whitewash series win over Bangladesh in Chittagong.

South African-born Kieswetter worked hard to make his total of 107 as England posted 284-5 after being put into bat first.

A late knock of 32 from just 13 balls by Luke Wright boosted the total beyond the 250-mark for the tourists.

England paceman Tim Bresnan then took four wickets as Bangladesh were restricted to 239 -9.

Aftab Ahmed (46), Mushfiqur Rahim (40), skipper Shakib Al Hasan (38) and Mohammad Mahmudullah (34) were the main run-getters, but Bangladesh are still yet to beat England in any form of the game.

Daunting total

Chasing a daunting total, Bangladesh lost opener Tamim Iqbal from the third ball but were in contention for a first win over England until a dubious lbw decision against skipper Shakib Al Hasan derailed their innings, although TV replays suggested the ball would have missed the stumps.

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.

Kieswetter, 22, inspired England by hitting three sixes and nine fours in a 123-ball knock to bolster England’s innings.

“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 said.

“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 added.

“Today I tried to pace myself a bit more. I tried to get myself in before playing too many extravagant shots.” 

Lucrative partnership

Kieswetter 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.

ODI scorecard

England innings A Cook c Rahim b Shakib 32 C Kieswetter b Razzak 107 K Pietersen lbw b Razzak 22 P Collingwood c Razzak b Suhrawadi 36 E Morgan c Tamim b Shafiul 36 L Wright not out 32 T Bresnan not out 6 Extras 13 Total (five wickets; 50 overs) 284 Fall of wickets: 1-59 2-96 3-170 4-237 5-257 Bangladesh innings T Iqbal c Bresnan b Shahzad 0 I Kayes c Prior b Bresnan 17 A Ahmed run out 46 M Rahim c Bresnan b Swann 40 S Al Hasan lbw b Pietersen 38 Mahmudullah c Cook b Bresnan 34 N Islam c Wright b Swann 17 S Shuvo c Shahzad b Bresnan 11 A Razzak not out 17 S Islam c Prior b Bresnan 0 R Hossain not out 2 Extras (lb3 w-14) 17 Total (nine wickets; 50 overs) 239 Fall of wickets: 1-0 2-40 3-96 4-125 5-162 6-204 7-211 8-228 9-228

Kieswetter went for big shots after completing his half-century 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.

Luke Wright hit a 13-ball 32 not out with the help of two sixes and as many fours in the closing overs.

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.