The very underrated Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan demolished the famed West Indies pace attack with a brilliant century during their ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 group match at County Ground, Taunton on Monday.
Chasing a tall target of 322 runs, Bangladesh got off to a good start with openers Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar posting a 52-run opening stand inside the ninth over. Then, Shakib arrived. And they won by seven wickets with 51 balls remaining.
The top-ranked all-rounder did lose a couple of partners in Iqbal and experienced Mushfiqur Rahim, but he continued to play exhilarating shots against a bowling attack which has the likes of Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, Andre Russell, etc.
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He now has scores of 75, 64, 121, 124 not out in the tournament. The 32-year-old reached his second successive hundred with a four off the last ball of the 34th over as Bangladesh inched closer to a big win. He took just 85 balls.
Earlier, he took two wickets during West Indies' innings, those of Evin Lewis and Nicholas Pooran -- each time, breaking a burgeoning stand.
In the process, he created a host of records, including century and two wickets in a match for the fifth time (which is joint-most with Chris Gayle), 50+ score and two wickets for the 23rd time (joint-most with Jacques Kallis), 50+ score and wicket for sixth time in a World Cup match (joint-most with Tillakaratne Dilshan).
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And fans can hold themselves back. Here are some reactions.
Despite his brilliant numbers and ability to win matches single-handedly, Shakib remains one of the most underrated stars of world cricket.
Shakib made his international debut in an ODI match against Zimbabwe at Harare in 2006.
