Bangladesh made the best possible start in the World Cup 2019 as they posted a commanding total of 330 runs batting first against South Africa in their opening match at the Oval in London Sunday.
The way the batsmen negotiated the Proteas bowlers will surely stand them in good stead in the upcoming matches of the World Cup,
But not only the big score, the manner in which they did it was commendable as it was a smart, skillful effort.
It was a combined effort, as none of the Bangladeshis could get past the 80-run mark and Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib al Hasan were the highest scorers with 78 and 75 respectively.
They were the only half-centurions, while the others chipped in very well to push the total towards a record score.
It is Bangladesh’s highest score in ODI history.
@Mahmudullah30 usually bats at crucial positions in the Tigers’ batting line-up as he often he has to do the job of finishing the match or scoring quick runs in the death overs.https://t.co/Yi1UpbN1ZZ#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #BANGLADESHCRICKET #BANGLADESH #CRICKET #MAHMUDULLAH
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) June 2, 2019
The previous best came against Pakistan in 2015 when the Tigers registered 329/6 in Dhaka on April 17.
The score is also the highest by any team in their opening World Cup game.
The total is also the highest in this edition so far as England’s 311 against South Africa in the curtain raiser was the only 300-plus score.
The score also broke the bad patch of Asian teams’ batting as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan totalled 105, 135 and 207 in their respective opening games, while India have not played any match yet.
Bangladesh’s batting started with a good opening stand as Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar posted 60 in just eight overs.
South Africa bounced back by removing both of them within the next three overs.
One of the biggest positive signs for the @BCBtigers team in recent times has been their opening batsman Soumya Sarkar’s impressive form.https://t.co/g8hlZFJ5WG#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #BANGLADESHCRICKET #BANGLADESH #CRICKET #SOUMYASARKAR #SOUMYA #SARKAR #BANGLADESHCRICKETTEAM
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) June 2, 2019
But Shakib and Mushfiq not only recovered the situation but their 142-run partnership for the third wicket took the Tigers to a position of advantage.
Shakib made an impressive 75-run innings off 84 deliveries with eight boundaries and a six.
The all-rounder entered into the record book yet again as he scored a fifty-plus innings in each of his four opening games at the World Cup for Bangladesh.
Shakib started his World Cup career in 2007 in the West Indies and scored 53 off 86 balls against India.
Later in 2011, the southpaw scored 55 off 50 balls against India in Dhaka.
In the 2015 World Cup, the ace Bangladeshi made 63 off 51 deliveries against Afghanistan in Canberra.
@Sah75official picked up his 250th wicket Sunday when he cleaned up @OfficialCSA opener @AidzMarkram in their @cricketworldcup match at the Oval.https://t.co/k6wRtPZ34C#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #CRICKET #BANGLADESH #BANGLADESHCRICKET #AIDENMARKRAM #SHAKIBALHASAN #SHAKIB #MARKRAM
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) June 2, 2019
And now in 2019, Shakib continued the trend.
Mushfiq kept the wheel going making 78 runs off 80 balls with eight fours and once again, proved that their experience is really crucial for the Tigers.
The remaining batsmen also batted well and made a strong finish to get the score well past the 300- mark.
Mahmudullah pressed the accelerator button and finished with a swashbuckling 46 off 33 balls while Mohammad Mithun (21) and Mosaddek Hossain (26) also made useful contributions.
The brilliant, combined performance deserves more applause as the Tigers answered the South African tactics of short bowling with perfection.
So far in the World Cup, Asian batsmen looked meek against the bouncers of the West Indies, New Zealand and Afghanistan, but Bangladeshi batters looked unfazed against the Proteas bowling.
Soumya smothered the short balls with aggressive pull shots and other batsmen also handled them quite well.
So, not only the huge score, but also the way Bangladesh batted would create a lot of hope for the games ahead.
MATCH 5
BANGLADESH INNINGS R B
Tamim c De Kock b Phehlukwayo 16 29
Soumya c De Kock b Morris 42 30
Shakib b Tahir 75 84
Mushfiq c Van der Dussen b Phehlukwayo 78 80
Mithun b Tahir 21 21
Mahmudullah not out 46 33
Mosaddek c Phehlukwayo b Morris 26 20
Miraz not out 5 3
Extras (lb 9, w 12) 21
Total (50 Overs) 330/6
Fall Of Wickets
1-60 (Tamim), 2-75 (Soumya), 3-217 (Shakib), 4-242 (Mithun), 5-250 (Mushfiq), 6-316 (Mosaddek)
Bowling
Ngidi 4-0-34-0, Rabada 10-0-57-0, Phehlukwayo 10-1-52-2, Morris 10-0-73-2, Markram 5-0-38-0, Tahir 10-0-57-2, Duminy 1-0-10-0
SOUTH AFRICA INNINGS R B
De Kock run out (Mushfiq) 23 32
Markram b Shakib 45 56
Du Plessis b Miraz 62 53
Miller c Miraz b Mustafizur 38 43
Van der Dussen b Saifuddin 41 38
Duminy b Mustafizur 45 37
Phehlukwayo c Shakib b Saifuddin 8 13
Morris c Soumya b Mustafizur 10 10
Rabada not out 13 9
Tahir not out 10 10
Extras (b 4, nb 1, w 9) 14
Total (50 Overs) 309/8
Fall Of Wickets
1-49 (De Kock), 2-102 (Markram), 3-147 (Du Plessis), 4-202 (Miller), 5-228 (Van der Dussen), 6-252 (Phehlukwayo), 7-275 (Morris), 8-287 (Duminy)
Bowling
Mustafizur 10-0-67-3, Miraz 10-0-44-1, Saifuddin 8-1-57-2, Shakib 10-0-50-1, Mosaddek 6-0-38-0
Bangladesh won by 21 runs
MoM: Shakib al Hasan
