ICC World Cup: Mahedi, Shoriful shine versus England
England posted a mammoth 364/9 against Bangladesh in Match 7 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in Dharamsala. The total would have been even more gigantic had Mahedi Hasan and Shoriful Islam not done the damage control in the last 10 overs. While the former claimed a career-best four-fer, Shoriful dismissed three batters. Here are their stats.
Important spells from Bangladesh duo
Shoriful Islam, who was expensive in his first spell, dismissed the dangerous-looking Joe Root for 82 to open his account. He then dismissed dashers Liam Livingstone (0) and Jos Buttler (20), denting England's plans even further. All of Mahedi's wickets came in the last 14 overs. He dismissed Dawid Malan (140), Harry Brook (20), Sam Curran (11), and Adil Rashid (11).
The damage control in the last 10 overs
England touched the 300-run mark in just 40.2 overs and with seven wickets in hand, they looked set to touch the 400-run mark. However, Bangladesh bowlers made a remarkable fight back in the death overs and took wickets at regular intervals. The same dried up the run flow as the Brits could only manage 66 runs in their last 10 overs, losing six wickets.
Career-best figures for Mahedi
Mahedi, who was expensive in his first spell, bowled brilliantly toward the death and claimed figures worth 4/71 in eight overs. This was his maiden four-fer in the format as the off-spinner has now raced to 12 wickets in nine games at a brilliant economy rate of 4.97. Notably, the off-spinner is standing in his ODI WC debut, having missed Bangladesh's opener against Afghanistan.
Three-fer for Shoriful
The 22-year-old Shoriful displayed his class in the last 10 overs and claimed 3/74 in 10 overs. The left-arm pacer has now raced to 40 wickets in just 24 ODIs at an economy rate of 5.49. He has displayed the ability to take wickets across all phases. Meanwhile, the youngster's best figures in the format reads 4/21.