All-round Shakib fires Bangladesh to crucial win
Shakib al Hasan produced a fine all-round performance to help Bangladesh pull off a convincing 62-run victory over Afghanistan in their ICC Cricket World Cup match played at Southampton yesterday.
Shakib scored 51 to become the leading run scorer in this year’s World Cup so far as his side reached 262 for seven from their 50 overs after being put in to bat.
He then mesmerized the opposition with a superb five-wicket haul as Afghanistan were bowled out for 200 runs in 47 overs.
Shakib’s 51 took him to 476 runs in the tournament, while Mushfiqur Rahim top scored with an 87-ball 83.
Liton Das was promoted ahead of Soumya Sarkar to open along with Tamim Iqbal for Bangladesh, with the pair managing a brisk 23 from the first four overs.
But Liton fell for 16 in the next over after being fooled into a miscued drive by spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who finished with impressive figures of three for 39.
That brought Shakib to the crease and he upped the tempo even further with some aggressive hitting that maintained his fine World Cup form.
When Shakib, who has two centuries already in the tournament, pulled Naib to the boundary, it moved him above Australia’s David Warner’s 447 runs as the leading scorer in this year’s event.
Tamim and Shakib also put on their fourth successive fifty-run partnership in oneday internationals.
Shakib brought up his half century in 66 balls - his fifth score of 50 or more in this tournament.