Bangladesh star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is hoping for a memorable 200th ODI when the Tigers take on New Zealand on Wednesday.

Bangladesh made a brilliant start to the 2019 World Cup, defeating South Africa by 21 runs with Shakib enjoying a fine day. The top-ranked all-rounder scored 75 to help Bangladesh post their highest ever ODI score of 330-6 before taking 1-50 to restrict South Africa to 309-8.

That match saw Shakib become just the fifth player after Sanath Jayasuriya, Jacques Kallis, Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq to reach the landmark of 5,000 runs and 250 wickets in ODIs. He was the fastest to that mark – 199 matches.

On Wednesday, Shakib will become only the third Bangladesh player to the 200-ODI mark after skipper Mashrafe Mortaza and Mushfiqur Rahim. However, Shakib isn’t thinking too much about the milestone.

“I’m very happy the way I contributed (in the last game). If I do that every time, the stats will take care of themselves,” Shakib was quoted as saying by AFP.

“I don’t normally look at it (statistics), but if people are talking about it, I obviously feel happy.”

Bangladesh’s next opponents New Zealand are likely to be a more challenging prospect than the Proteas. A finger injury had forced Shakib out of the ODI series in New Zealand earlier this year in which the Tigers were blanked 3-0. Shakib wants to set the record straight on Wednesday.

“Building up to this World Cup, we knew what challenges we might face. We prepared well, so that gave us a lot of confidence and belief. We came to this World Cup wanting to do well,” he said.

“We are up for the challenge but at the same time we are relaxed. We knew we had the skill to beat big teams.

“I think that we are in a good place, mentally. I think if we can continue in this manner, we can go a long way in the tournament.”