Craig Kieswetter's maiden ODI hundred laid the platform for England as they secured a series whitewash with a comfortable 45-run victory at Chittagong. Bangladesh briefly threatened in their run chase, when Aftab Ahmed and Mushfiqur Rahim were compiling useful innings, but England chipped away and the asking rate climbed.
Graeme Swann once again impressed while Tim Bresnan bagged some cheap wickets at the end to give him a deserved career-best haul of 4 for 28. This was England's most complete performance of the series and it was the result everyone expected. However, the visitors have been tested at various occasions and Alastair Cook will be relieved to have avoided any slip-ups in his first series in charge.
Bangladesh's pursuit of 285 was finely poised as they reached 125 for 3 halfway through their innings. Aftab Ahmed added 40 with Imrul Kayes and 56 with Mushfiqur Rahim after Ajmal Shahzad removed Tamim Iqbal with the third ball of the innings. When he was run out for 46, Rahim and Shakib al Hasan continued the momentum in an unbeaten 29-run partnership. Their continued presence at the crease will be vital to the chase.
Tamim has prospered against the new ball in the previous games of this series, but lasted only three balls as Shahzad struck with his third ball in one-day international cricket - just as he did against Pakistan on his England Twenty20 debut in Dubai last month. Shahzad pushed the ball across the left-hander, who slashed hard but top-edged to third man where Tim Bresnan took a good tumbling catch.
Imrul Kayes bounced back from the early loss of his opening partner with a pair of imperious drives off Shahzad through the off side, and countered England's short -ball tactics with a powerful pull behind square. But after becoming bogged down by an accurate Bresnan, he slashed at one that was pushed a little wider to be caught behind for 17 as Bangladesh slipped to 40 for 2 after 10 overs.
His dismissal brought Rahim and Ahmed together, and both hit their strides quickly, running hard and putting away any loose balls. Ahmed has often been guilty of throwing his wicket away with wild strokeplay in the past, but he played an uncharacteristically calm innings, the odd innovatory paddle sweep aside.
He struck successive boundaries off Liam Plunkett as Bangladesh's chase began to gain momentum, and looked set for a half-century, but was then senselessly run out after setting off for a non-existent single and being sent back.
Shakib got going with a powerful sweep to the midwicket boundary off Graeme Swann, while Rahim continued to place the ball well and run hard to keep the runs flowing.
Craig Kieswetter struck his maiden one-day hundred in just his third game to lift England to an imposing 284 for 5 in the third game of the series at Chittagong. With England's top order struggling to adapt to the conditions on a sluggish pitch, Kieswetter started cautiously but opened up after reaching his fifty, striking three sixes before he was bowled for 107 by Abdur Razzaq in the 47th over. His innings laid the foundation for Eoin Morgan and Luke Wright's aggressive cameos, which boosted England's total in the latter overs.
In contrast to their reputations, Alastair Cook far outscored Kieswetter before he was dismissed. After Mushfiqur Rahim held onto a thin edge to cut short Cook's positive start, Kieswetter buckled down, determined to occupy the crease after his failures in the first two games. He had a nervous start once again, playing inside a length ball from Shafiul Islam before edging a yorker from the same bowler off the toe of the bat to third man.
Kieswetter also survived a big leg before appeal in Razzak's first over but slowly came to terms with the conditions and relieved some pressure by slapping Shakib Al Hasan and Razzak for boundaries through point in the ninth and tenth overs.
Kevin Pietersen was similarly circumspect against the slow bowlers when he first came to the crease, before he broke free with a powerful slog sweep over deep midwicket off Suhrawadi Shuvo's left-arm spin. He added a delicate paddle sweep to fine leg, but was soon pinned lbw for 22 by Razzak, despite his full forward lunge, as his struggles against left-arm spin continued, and England slipped to 96 for 2.
Shakib rotated his gaggle of spinners extensively and Bangladesh raced through their overs at a rate hovering around 17 overs to the hour with slow bowlers used exclusively through the middle of the innings. Given no time to settle, Paul Collingwood struggled to time the ball before finally finding the boundary with his favoured chip over wide long-on off Shuvo in the 29th over.
That shot aside, Collingwood struggled for fluency on a slow pitch, but Kieswetter gained in confidence with every run, and brought up his fifty in the 33rd over with a rifling drive through the covers off Shuvo. He then stepped down the wicket to loft Mahmudullah cleanly over long-on for a massive six to swing the momentum in England's favour with 15 overs remaining in the innings.
Collingwood tried to follow Kieswetter's lead, but succeeded only in slicing a high catch to Razzak at long-on. But the 74 he added with Kieswetter carried England through a tricky middle period and laid a foundation for Morgan and Wright's late push.
Morgan made the most of his let-offs after a series of very close lbw appeals in the second game, and profited from lapses in Bangladesh's fielding today. He was put down twice as he raced to 36 from 29 balls, with four fours and a six, and put on 67 in just over eight overs with Kieswetter.
The pair took full toll of anything loose after England took the batting Powerplay in the 44th over, matching each other shot for shot as Kieswetter went to his hundred. He became the second-youngest England batsman, at 22 years and 97 days, to make a limited-over century, and celebrated with a crisp hit over long-on for six.
After Morgan was finally dismissed, held by Tamim Iqbal at cover, Wright took over with a brutal display of power hitting. He stormed to 32 from just 13 balls, and closed the innings with a swipe over long-off for six to close the innings and take England to their highest score in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh will need something special from their batsmen to chase this total on a slow, low wicket, and will struggle if Tamim cannot give them a strong start.
