A promising start at the World Cup

We couldn't be prouder of the Bangladesh cricket team for its stunning victory over South Africa at The Oval on Sunday. The nail-biting match saw Bangladesh put up 330 runs—its highest total in ODI cricket. What was also very heartening to see were the huge numbers of loyal Bangladeshi fans, turning the stands into a sea of green and red, whose enthusiasm could even be felt through the TV screen.

The formidable pair of seasoned cricketers Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan managed to hold the ground—both scoring over 70 runs—which proved to be a game-changing partnership for Bangladesh's first match at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Mahmudullah Riyad also played a major role in the win given his 46 runs off 33 balls. The win, of course, wouldn't have been possible without the crucial wickets claimed by Mustafizur Rahman who bagged three wickets and Mohammad Saifuddin who took two important wickets as well.

Bangladesh's promising start at the World Cup was no doubt a huge upset for the Proteas who put up a strong fight—scoring 309 runs—hoping to redeem themselves after their major defeat in their opening match against England on May 30.

The Bangladesh cricket team deserves a pat on the back for its formidable performance. However, this is not the time to become complacent. Now, the team has to gear up to face a strong New Zealand and England (which is currently ranked number one in the ICC's ODI rankings and is a favourite to win the Cup) in the upcoming matches and must, therefore, be mentally prepared and have a well-rounded strategy in place to effectively tackle them. The Bangladesh team has only gone from strength to strength in the last few years and we believe they have what it takes to go much further in the tournament. What we need is vision and determination.