Shakib Al Hasan, the top-ranked all-rounder in white-ball cricket, achieved a significant milestone on Monday by becoming the first Bangladeshi player to take 300 ODI wickets for his country. Shakib reached this milestone during his Player of the Match performance in Bangladesh’s 50-run victory over England in Chattogram, contributing strongly with both bat and ball.
The 35-year-old scored 75 runs, the highest of the match, and returned to the crease to collect impressive figures of 4/35 from 10 overs, leading Bangladesh to another victory. Shakib’s final wicket was England’s teenage debutant Rehan Ahmed, making him only the 14th player in the history of Men’s ODI cricket to pick up 300 wickets in 50-over cricket.
Despite losing the three-match ODI series against England 2-1, Bangladesh has already secured enough points during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League to qualify for the 50-over showcase to be held in India later this year. The win helped Bangladesh move up to fourth place on the Super League standings, with the top eight teams qualifying directly for the Cricket World Cup.
England is currently at the top of the standings and is well-placed to defend the title they won at the last World Cup in 2019. New Zealand, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia, and Afghanistan have also qualified for the event. However, the remaining spot is still up for grabs, with four teams still in contention to qualify directly.
The West Indies are currently in eighth place with 88 Super League points, but they have played all 24 of their matches and would need a miracle to hang on. South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Ireland are all close behind and have matches in hand to try and surpass the West Indies and qualify for the World Cup directly.
South Africa has two crucial home matches against the Netherlands, Sri Lanka is set to play a three-game ODI series against New Zealand, and Ireland’s hopes rest on a rescheduled series against Bangladesh later in the year.
More details on – ICC-Cricket
