Micromax ODI Cup, Bangladesh vs Newzealand, 2010
Few words, big impact
Going by Shakib Al Hasan’s personality, here is a straightforward account of his contribution to Bangladesh’s 9-run win.
With 18 runs needed from eight balls, Shakib Al Hasan gets dangerman Nathan McCullum out bowled around his legs, ensuring New Zealand are without their last hitter going into the final over.
Earlier, Nathan’s brother Brendan gave New Zealand a fiery start but on 61, Shakib jammed in a yorker to remove him.
And just one ball later, Shakib got one to straighten on Grant Elliott and have the South African man out leg-before.
The score (85 for four) had more significance as the rain pelted down on Mirpur and made sure the visitors had to face a stiffer target when they resumed their innings some 45 minutes later.
A little before the rain break, Shakib was at mid-off when captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza fell heavily on his right ankle. “When he slipped, I knew he was gone for the day,” he joked later, the scene eerily similar to the St Vincent Test match last year when Mashrafe injured his knee in similar fashion and Shakib led the Tigers to victory.
That was not all however. With the bat too, Shakib was the only batsman to make something of his start and went from 38 to his half-century with three fours. The flurry of boundaries took Bangladesh close to the 200-mark early in the final Powerplay.
Shakib practically had an impact on every juncture of yesterday’s game, a hallmark of a class all-rounder.
Six of his 15 half-centuries in one-day cricket have come in a Bangladesh win but this double (a half-century and 4-for) was a first for him.
Shakib also confirmed that this was his first-ever fifty against New Zealand in one-day cricket.
Despite all of this, Shakib tried to play down his overt influence on the match in typically terse replies.
“I feel good when the team does well. It is even better when we win,” he said simply when asked about his first reaction on his match-winning all-round show.
About his duel with Daniel Vettori, Shakib again kept it short: “I was not thinking about it.”
When did you think Bangladesh were sure to win, a journalist inquired. “When Nazmul bhai bowled the fourth ball of the last over,” he replied and the rest laughed.
He reserved praise for the bowlers for getting a wicket whenever he brought them on. “We tried to stop them and some of the bowling changes were good. But credit must go to the bowlers as they took wickets at crucial times,” he said.
Captains Mashrafe and Vettori said Shakib’s was a great performance but the 23-year-old typically had little to say on the topic.
His sly smile was enough to suggest, however, that he was pleased.
