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BSP-13
CRICKET-SHAKIB
Milestone again beckons Shakib
DHAKA, June 19, 2019 (BSS)- Shakib Al Hasan stands on the brink of another milestone and with the form he has been going through it looked all likely.
Coincidentally there was no match in the World Cup as of now that Shakib didn’t come up with a hope to reach a milestone. And the match against Australia whom Bangladesh take on Thursday is no exception.
He had already scored four half-centuries at the start of any World Cup to join the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Graeme Smith and Steve Smith. And only Steve Smith could make it five and his record came in 2015 World Cup. So if Shakib can make another half-century against Smith’s side Australia, he can emulate him to reach another milestone.
The talismanic all-rounder is such red-hot form in this event that when he gets down in the field, record is bound to touch his feat.
As it was largely unnoticed he quietly emulated batting genius Sachin Tendulkar in two ODI elite list of batting during the course of his match winning 124 not out that helped Bangladesh pull off a comprehensive seven-wicket win over West Indies at Taunton on Monday.
His 124 runs knock that came off just 99 deliveries, was his fourth straight fifty plus knock in this World Cup and also his fifth successive fifty plus. His fourth fifty plus knock at the start of World Cup, which was also his fifth successive ODI fifty plus knock put him alongside Sachin Tendulkar who also had those two records.
Sachin scored four straight fifty plus knock in 1996 and it was Navjot Singh Sidhu’s feat (1987 World Cup) that he had equalled. Graeme Smith in 2007 is the other player on the list. Steve Smith from Australia, stands atop on the unique list with five straight fifty plus scores (in 2015 World Cup) at the start of the campaign.
And Shakib is on the verge of emulating Steve Smith and that too against Smith’s side Australia as Bangladesh will take on the Aussie on Thursday at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Considering the form he has been going through at the moment, it might happen that he keeps Smith a witness to emulate him.
Shakib’s His five fifty-plus scores read as – 50 not out against Ireland during the tri-series tournament in Ireland, 75 against South Africa, 64 against New Zealand, 121 against England and 124 not out against West Indies. He however missed the tri-series final against West Indies, otherwise it could have been sixth straight fifty plus knock given the form he is going through at the moment.
It was the record which also included a total of 32 batsmen including Tendulkar. Virat Kohli is the only batsman in the list to have achieved the milestone twice. However Shakib isn’t the first Bangladeshi on that list as opener Tamim Iqbal was the first and only other from the nation who had achieved the feat back in 2012.
Shakib’s knock on Monday took his tally of runs to 384 (of four innings) as he stands atop in the run-getters list in World Cup 2019 as of now. Besides, he also has five wickets to his name – sitting equal 16th overall.
His knock also brought with it two other fresh milestones. While he became the second Bangladeshi player to amass 6000 ODI runs, he became the quickest player to join the four-member ODI double club of ‘6000 runs and 250+ wickets that also included Sanath Jayasuriya, Shahid Afridi and Jacques Kallis.
BSS/SMP/AU/13:35 hrs