Tamim Iqbal becomes 1st B'desh batsman to score 7,000 ODI runs (Lead)

Sylhet, March 3:  Veteran Tamim Iqbal became the first Bangladesh batsman to score 7,000 ODI runs, after he roared back to form with a crackling 158 against Zimbabwe during their second One Day International (ODI) here on Tuesday.

The hosts rode his heroics to post 322/8 in 50 overs after electing to bat first. Tamim, who played his first ODI in nine months in the first match, had taken a break from cricket in the second half of 2019.

The highest Tamim has scored in his last seven innings in ODIs is just 36, but on Tuesday he looked his usual best as he took 136 deliveries to get to 158 with the help of 20 fours and three sixes. The 30-year-old has been Bangladesh's leading run-getter in one-dayers and this feat adds another feather to his cap.

Tamim has looked in fine touch with the bat in 2020. Playing T20Is after over a year, he posted scores of 39 and 65 against Pakistan in January. He followed it by blasting an unbeaten 334 in a first-class game, the best score by a Bangladesh batsman in the format.

Tamim has scored the most centuries by a Bangladesh batsman in ODIs but failed to hit the three-figure mark since July 2018 before ending the drought on Tuesday.