World Cup 2019: Shakib and Mushfiqur dazzle as Bangladesh notch up their highest score in ODI cricket
Bangladesh added a new feather in their cap as the team scored 330 from their allotted 50 overs against South Africa at the Kennington Oval in Match 6 of the ICC Cricket World Cup.
South Africa won the toss and skipper Faf du Plessis surprisingly chose to bowl on a pitch that looked like a belter. Bangladesh took advantage of that decision as almost all their batsmen played superbly in order to help the team create history in ODI cricket.
Soumya Sarkar started the innings on a cracking note as he took a liking to both the wicket and also the South African bowlers. Sarkar was severe on anything remotely short. He crunched a few delightful pulls. The new ball bowlers, Rabada and Ngidi were guilty of not testing the front-foot proficiency of the Bangladeshi batsmen.
Even after Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar lost their wickets, Bangladesh didn't let their guard down as two of their most experienced batsmen in the form of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim kept on attacking the South African bowlers
They were also helped by Ngidi's injury as South Africa had to resort to part-time options like JP Duminy and Aiden Markram to fill in his quota of overs. Even Imran Tahir was found guilty of dishing out too many freebies. Bangladesh, being a team from the subcontinent were never going to miss out on such deliveries.
As if this wasn't enough, South Africa piled on more misery as their ground fielding turned out to be surprisingly sloppy. Misfields and overthrows were a regular feature in Bangladesh's innings.
But, the credit can't be taken away from Rahim and Shakib as their 142-run partnership was so good that it ended up as Bangladesh's best ever in a World Cup match.
The platform set up by the experienced duo was capitalised on by the likes of Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah Riyad and Mossadek Hossain. As the innings went progressed, South Africa's consistency with the ball only worsened and their death bowlers buckled under pressure.
With 14 runs required off the final over for Bangladesh to notch up their highest total in ODI history, Mahmudullah emphatically smashed Kagiso Rabada for 10 runs in the very first two balls. This made the equation pretty and Bangladesh ended up on 330 at the end of 50 overs. If South Africa go on to win the match, it will end up as the highest total chased down by a team in World Cup history.
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