Inform Tamim times it nicely in trophy opener
Tamim Iqbal scored the first century of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 as he laid the platform for Bangladesh to score 305 for six against England in the opening game of the prestigious 50-over tournament at The Oval in London on Thursday.
It was Tamim’s ninth ODI century (102), and the one he will remember for a long time if it helps Bangladesh win the crucial Group A tie.
The left-handed batsman got off to a good start with his opening partner Soumya Sarkar as the two notched up 56 runs before the latter got out in the 12th over.
Tamim, who also has 36 ODI half-centuries, then combined well with Imrul Kayes (19) and wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim (79) before bringing up his fifty.
Tamim and Mushfiqur batted well together to bring up their century partnership (166 for the third wicket) and took Bangladesh closer to the 300-run mark.
It was Tamim’s second century against England.
The opener has been in form coming into the ICC Champions Trophy, having scored a brilliant century in the warm-up game against Pakistan.
He smashed 102 off 93 balls with nine boundaries and four sixes. The 28-year-old Chittagong-born also hit two half centuries in the tri-series also involving Ireland and New Zealand where he finished with the highest-aggregate for Bangladesh --- 199 runs in four matches with an average of 66.33.