|| CF Correspondent ||

Bangladesh ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan proved his worth through a brilliant half-century against South Africa in their opening World Cup fixture at Oval on Sunday.

Shakib along with Mushfiqur Rahim struck half-century to guide Bangladesh to their highest ODI scored as they reached 330-6 in their World Cup opener against South Africa at The Oval on Sunday.

This was Bangladesh’s highest score in their ODI history, eclipsing 329-6 against Pakistan in Dhaka in 2015 and only second score over 300 in the cricket’s biggest extravaganza.

Mushfiqur Rahim smashed 80 ball-78 with eight fours while Shakib hit 75 off 84, clobbering eight fours and one six.

The duo shared 142-run for the third wicket partnership, Bangladesh’s highest in the World Cup, to set the platform upfront.

In the process Shakib also reached 11,000 international runs as he had already scored 3807 runs and 1471 runs respectively in Tests and T20I’s while by adding 75 runs he eventually accumulated 5792 runs to his name.

But more than anything else he gave a timely answer to his critics after he turned out to be the major talking point ahead of the World Cup by missing the official photo shoot of the Tigers.

It seemed he was determined to show the world that when it comes to business he is a cool customer despite all the sound around him like he always had been throughout his career.

The decision to work out extra in the gym after a long break and losing substantial amount of wait ahead of the World Cup through passing some rigorous physical training session during his stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad only was an indication how badly he wanted to shine in the World Cup and if morning shows the day he is just started the journey on the right note.

The determination which oozed from Shakib’s face while playing the 84-ball knock talked volumes about his steel strong temperament. It was as if he was out to prove a point.

Despite his success at number three there were doubts whether he had the perfect technique to shine in English condition where there will be swing and bounce unlike the way he is used to at his own back yard.

South African bowling attack is considered as one of the best attack in this World Cup but here they looked totally clueless when Shakib chose to attack them as he smashed 8 fours and a six during his innings.

There were doubts about his fitness as well as he missed the tri-nation final due to injury but he never looked to be carrying any sort of awkwardness during his stay at the crease as he grew confidence after reaching his 43rd fifty.

The all-rounder was in and out of action in 2018, missing crucial matches due to injuries he suffered at the beginning of 2018 and it seemed the challenge thrown by Bangladesh head coach Steve Rhodes ahead of the tournament worked as tonic for his as the Englishman publicly asked Shakib to show everyone why is considered to be the number one all-rounder.

“He seems to have been a little bit forgotten but now he’s back as the world’s No one all-all-rounder in ODI cricket - and that’s where we think he belongs. But he’s got a point to prove to make sure everybody else believes that,” said Rhodes