ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Shakib Al Hasan gets his 250th wicket, Bangladesh on top vs South Africa

Shakib Al Hasan has been a history-maker for Bangladesh ever since he made his entry into international cricket. With both bat and ball, he has been the premier all-rounder in world cricket across all formats and has played a major hand in Bangladesh becoming a force in world cricket. In Bangladesh's opening encounter against South Africa in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Shakib's contributions have been immense. With the bat, he smashed 75, his 43rd ODI fifty and shared a record 142-run stand for the fifth wicket with Mushfiqur Rahim as Bangladesh notched up 330/6, their highest score not only in ODIs but also in the World Cup. With the ball, he created more history during South Africa's innings.

In the fifth ball of the fifth over bowled by Shakib, Aiden Markram was nearing a fifty but he was undone by a quicker arm ball that skidded through and it crashed into the stumps. The wicket was Shakib's 250th in ODIs and it made him only the fifth player in ODI history to take 250 wickets and score 5000+ runs. Pakistan's Abdul Razzaq, Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya, Pakistan's Shahid Afridi and South Africa's Jacques Kallis are the other cricketers to have achieved this feat. Shakib is the second-highest wicket-taker for Bangladesh in ODIs, 14 behind Mashrafe Mortaza who has 264 wickets and is playing in his fifth World Cup.

Shakib and Mushfiqur's knocks helped Bangladesh post a total of 300-plus in the World Cup for only the second time. This was only the fourth time that South Africa had conceded a total in excess of 300 in the World Cup. Australia's 377/6 in the 2007 World Cup clash in St Kitts is the highest by an opponent against the Proteas.

Bangladesh has the second-highest score in the World Cup against the Proteas while England went past 300 in the opening game of the tournament. This is the first time Bangladesh has crossed 300 in ODIs against South Africa. It was in the Adelaide game which saw Bangladesh beat England by 15 runs and they qualified for the World Cup knock-out for the first time. South Africa will now be attempting to achieve the highest ever run-chase in the history of the tournament as they look to bounce back after losing their opening game against England by 104 runs.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Shakib Al Hasan become the fifth player to take 250 wickets and score 5000+ runs.
• Shakib Al Hasan is the second-highest wicket-taker for Bangladesh in ODIs.
• South Africa lost to Bangladesh in the 2007 World Cup.