During the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, all-rounder Sakib al Hasan had a personal battle with opener Tamim Iqbal as they were chasing the honour of becoming the first Bangladeshi to reach the 4,000 one-day international runs. Sakib had won the battle as he completed the feat in the opening match against Afghanistan when he scored 63 runs at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.
Sakib and Tamim began the match, needing 23 and 29 runs respectively but Tamim had the better chance to achieve it first being an opener.
However, the opener could make only 19 runs, falling 10 short of the feat and Sakib grabbed his opportunity to add another feather to his already glittering career.
They are involved in another battle for a personal glory in the ongoing ICC World Twenty20 as the duo is running neck-to-neck to become the first Bangladeshi cricketer to reach the milestone of 1000 runs in Twenty20 International.
Sakib was in pole position to achieve the milestone in the first match against Netherlands as he started the tournament with 974 runs to his name. He could add just five runs in the first match and did not get a chance to bat against Ireland, which means he still needs 21 more runs to reach it.
Tamim, however, began the tournament far away from the milestone with 859 runs. But he covered a long ground with two fabulous innings of 83 from 58 balls and 47 off 26 balls.
It took his tally to 989 runs, meaning he will need only 11 runs to achieve the milestone .Being the opener he will also have the first shot at the milestone during the Oman game, which makes him now favourite in this dual.
His 47 runs in Ireland washout already made Tamim the highest run scorer for Bangladesh in all three formats, a record that hardly any cricketer from other countries can boast of.
Given the kind of form Tamim showed in the first two matches, when the left-hander struck seven sixes, the highest so far in the tournament, Oman admitted their first job in today’s game will be to restrict him.
‘We know he is in a prolific form,’ said Oman vice-captain Aamir Kaleem. ‘We have some plans to restrict him. We are confident we can get him early.’
Unless Oman can execute the plan, it is all but certain Tamim will not only reach the milestone before Sakib, but he will also get his name to few other records.
-With New Age input
