Twitter Reactions: Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan shine as Bangladesh begins series on winning note

Shakib Al Hasan shone with a five-wicket haul for the visitors which helped Bangladesh to bundle up Zimbabwe at just 121 runs. Doing so, he became the leading wicket-taker for Bangladesh in ODIs. Shakib Al Hasan went past Mashrafe Mortaza’s tally of 269 wickets. The all-rounder now has 274 wickets in 213 ODIs and has also chipped in 6,474 runs as well. In Tests and T20Is too, Shakib tops the list of highest wicket-taker for Bangladesh with 210 and 92 wickets in the formats respectively.

After having a positive start to their tour by winning the one-off Test match against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh has carried their momentum into the ODIs as well as they registered a massive triumph over Zimbabwe by 155 runs in the first ODI at the Harare Sports Club. Bangladesh now has taken the lead of 1-0 in the three-match ODI series against the hosts.

Bangladesh dominate Zimbabwe throughout

The toss fell in favor of Zimbabwe as they decided to field first. Liton Das was belligerent with the willow for Bangladesh as he hit an impressive century which helped the team to pose a competitive target of 277 on the board for Zimbabwe. Luke Jongwe ran through Bangladesh’s middle order securing 3 wickets as they struggled a bit. But later a little resistance by Afif Hossain (45) quite did the job for the team.

Chasing down the total, except for Regis Chakabva (54), no other batter could contribute much to Zimbabwe. They weren’t in the position to bounce back in the match and fell prey to Shakib who was the star of the match. His contributions to the Bangladesh side have thus made him an important cog of the team’s wheel.

Bangladesh and Zimbabwe will now lock horns against each other for the second ODI on Sunday, 18^th July. The Zimbabwean side will have to find ways to make a comeback in the series. Considering the fact that the series is a part of the ICC Super League and would affect the 2023 World Cup qualification, it stands pivotal for both teams. Bangladesh clearly is the favorite and would be determined to continue their good form against the hosts.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

Bangladesh won by 155 runs.#BANvZIM #RiseOfTheTigers pic.twitter.com/HRKGKmzqnb

— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) July 16, 2021

Player of the match – Liton Das.#BANvZIM #RiseOfTheTigers pic.twitter.com/IVtxktp5LG

— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) July 16, 2021

congratulations… 😘😘#ZIMvsBAN pic.twitter.com/EMNRKnTIvQ

— Nusrat Islam (@nusratislam715) July 16, 2021

Most ODI wickets by left arm spinners in ODI Cricket:@Sanath07 – 323 Wickets
Daniel Vettori – 305 Wickets@Sah75official – 274 Wickets#ZIMvsBAN #shakibalhassan pic.twitter.com/7ctR2H8A4m

— Cricset.pk (@cricsetpk) July 16, 2021

121 all out 😳 #ZIMvsBAN

— Tenny (@Magura_Ngara) July 16, 2021

Five-wicket haul for Shakib Al Hasan as Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by 155 runs in the first ODI and continue their domination in this format – Liton Das scored 102 from 114 balls including 8 fours was the star performer with bat. #ZIMvBAN #ZIMvsBAN #sakib

— Bibekananda Sahu (@IamBibeka) July 16, 2021

#1stODI | FIFTY! Regis Chakabva scored his 2⃣nd ODI 5⃣0⃣ off 47 deliveries, with 6⃣ boundaries! 🙌#ZIMvBAN | #IspahaniODISeries | #ICCSuperLeague | #VisitZimbabwe | #BowlOutCovid19 pic.twitter.com/mxXWpXdIwi

— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) July 16, 2021