New Delhi:
Shakib Al Hasan enhanced his reputation as one of the best all-rounders in cricket after he picked up his first five-wicket haul during the second Twenty20 International against West Indies in Mirpur. Liton Das’ aggressive 60, backed by Shakib’s 42 and a magnificent, unbeaten cameo of 43 off 21 balls from Mahmudullah helped Bangladesh reach 211/4, their second-highest total in Twenty20 Internationals. Shakib’s 5/20 helped Bangladesh beat the two-time World T20 champions by 36 runs to level the three-match series 1-1. The star Bangladesh all-rounder’s exploits with the ball put him in an elite list of players who have achieved a unique feat.
Shakib became only the third bowler to have picked up a five-wicket haul in Twenty20 Internationals. Elias Sunny was the first Bangladesh bowler to take a five-wicket haul when he picked up 5/13 against Ireland in Belfast in 2012. Sunny’s haul remains the best by a Bangladesh bowler in this format. Mustafizur Rahman became the first Bangladesh bowler to take a five-wicket haul in the World T20 in 2016 when he took 5/22 against New Zealand at the Eden Gardens. Shakib’s haul of 5/20 is the second-best for a Bangladesh bowler.
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However, with his five-wicket haul, the 31-year-old entered a unique list of bowlers who have taken a five-wicket haul in all three formats. Shakib has 20 five-wicket hauls in cricket, which is 18 in Tests and one each in ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals. He picked up his only ODI five-wicket haul in 2015 when he took 5/47 against Zimbabwe in Mirpur. Shakib leads the charts for Bangladesh bowlers in Tests, having taken a five-wicket haul against nine Test playing nations.
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Shakib joins Tim Southee, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umar Gul, Imran Tahir and Kuldeep Yadav as the other bowlers to have taken a five-wicket haul in all three formats. Southee was the first bowler to achieve this feat while Kuldeep became the first bowler to take a five-wicket haul in all formats in the same calendar year. Tahir, on the other hand, is the oldest player to have achieved this feat. Bhuvneshwar became the first Indian player to achieve this feat while Mendis became the first spinner to achieve this feat.
The final match of the series will be played on December 22 in Dhaka and Bangladesh would be aiming to achieve a series win in all three formats against the West Indies.
