When he smacks the ball with a wild heave towards midwicket or square-leg it indicates that someone has insulted his beloved motherland. There is a wild beauty in those brutal shots where the ball gets murdered mercilessly.
But wait! Don’t think that he only butchers the ball, but when situation demands he switches his gear and becomes a composed customer. But that never lets the scoreboard to be badly affected by dullness as runs are being added from every cow corners of the field with single and couples.
In the recently concluded Asia cup, Shakib Al Hasan simply played like a champion with astonishing consistency. From the start of the opening match till the end of the tournament Shakib was the man to watch, a champion who meant business.
Against Pakistan in the opening match, Shakib fought like a fighter and brought his team back into contention after Bangladesh threatened to implode in the chase. Shakib almost managed to shock the Pakistanis but sadly his partners weren’t able to support him as he had nothing to but try a wild swing to cover up the escalating asking run rate in the 49th over and get out.
But Shakib’s efforts were about to bore fruits and it came against the reigning world champions, India . A steady build up from Tamim Iqbal and Jahurul Islam had left the Tigers with a climbing asking rate. With Nasir Hossain steady at one end, Shakib gave Bangladesh hope with hitting that can simply be termed as sophisticated butchery.
He took 18 runs off Ashok Dinda in the 37th over with a couple of daring swings over midwicket and thick edge to third man. Ashwin dropped short and was punched and pulled for flurry of boundaries. Then it was Irfan Pathan's turn. A slash followed another pull, and the momentum had shifted in Bangladesh 's favour. Shakib’s demise was due to a dubious third umpire decision. But his cameo proved decisive in defeating India .
Against Sri Lanka Shakib was again found on song. A D/L-revised target left Bangladesh to chase down 212 in 40 overs and book a place in the final. Bangladesh lost three quick wickets and at number five entered the master to settle things for Bangladesh . With Tamim imperiously clearing the boundary at the other end, Shakib too joined his closest friend by cracking Lakmal with three consecutive boundaries through the off-side. A crafty 56 was scripted off Shakib’s bat.
In the final on a tricky track, Bangladesh were left to chase a modest total against a dangerous Pakistani attack. Shakib again entered the scene with Bangladesh reeling at 81-3 and responded with enough vigor by punishing Gul for a boundary. With Afridi and Ajmal wagging their tails, Shakib targeted Cheema and Hammad to keep Bangladesh breathing in the match. But he fell after scoring yet another fifty. In the end Bangladesh fell short by two runs. The whole nation was stunned and shocked.
Millions of viewers saw Shakib cry in immense sorrow and it touched all the cricketing nations deeply. Tears also fell from their eyes who weren’t Bangladeshis. That’s what a hero is all about, touching their fans and viewers’ hearts no matter in what situation they are in!
In this year’s Asia cup Shakib played like a true champion. He delivered when it mattered most.
Throughout the Asia cup, Shakib’s bat was found on song than the ball. In four matches Shakib has scored 237 runs facing 215 balls at an average of 59.25 with a staggering strike rate of 110.23. But mind you with the ball Shakib had been effective and critical. When needed he deliver the Tigers with important wickets and had been instrumental in breaking threatening partnerships. In four matches he fetched 6 wickets at an average of 33.16 with an economy rate of 4.97.
Shakib’s such staggering consistency earned him the man of the series of this year’s Asia cup and it was apt and appropriate.
Shakib Al Hasan is the golden son of Bangladesh cricket. And for the cricketing world he’s that cricketer who’s on his way to become one of the greatest icons of the game. While assessing a sportsman’s greatness, our question should run along the lines of how they found their game and how they left it. Shakib finds his game like Imran or Botham found during their playing days and it’s expected that he will leave this beautiful, artistic game as one of the icons.
All hail the lad from Magura!
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