Fiery Taskin sparkles again

Taskin Ahmed was the star of the show as Bangladesh managed their first win in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia beating Netherlands by nine runs.

Taskin’s career-best figures of 4-25 allowed the Tigers to restrict the Dutch to 135 after they put on 144-8 on board.

The pacer has been having a good year with the ball as he was the player of the series in Bangladesh’s historic series win in South Africa against the Proteas. And on Monday, he proved his worth again as he shined with the ball to give Bangladesh their first-ever win in the Super 12 stage of any T20 World Cup.

After a subpar performance with the bat, that saw some sliding down the slope, Bangladesh needed a good start with the ball to stamp their authority on the game. And Taskin did just that.

His first delivery was a ripper for Vikramjit Singh, who could only manage an edge to Yasir Ali Chowdhury at first slip, who took a good catch to send the Dutch opener back.

The next delivery was a bit wide, but right after coming in, Bas de Leede’s feet were stuck at the crease as he chased the ball and gave Nurul Hasan Sohan an easy catch behind the stumps.

Taskin did not get a hat-trick, but his first overs meant that Bangladesh were off to a flier, and he came back to rip the remainder of the Dutch batting.

His third victim was Shariz Ahmad, who could not find timing on a short ball and gave Hasan Mahmud an easy catch at deep third man.

In the same over, Taskin finished off the game as he got rid of Colin Ackermann, who was the cog of the Dutch innings with his innings of 62 runs off 48 deliveries. Ackermann tried to drag a short delivery from Taskin over deep mid-wicket, but could only manage to find Mosaddek Hossain at the boundary.

Taskin’s performance was the best by a Bangladesh pacer since Mustafizur Rahman’s fifer in the 2016 T20 World Cup, which handed the Tigers their first-ever win in the Super 12 stage of a World Cup.

Taskin could have had a hat-trick and a five-for himself, but missing out on that was of little regret for him.

“I am not disappointed (about not getting a fifer or hat-trick). We won. You need luck for a hat-trick and a fifer. I just tried to follow the process and did what the situation demanded. We bowled for wickets,” he said in the post-match press conference.

Taskin opted for back-of-a-length deliveries rather than fuller ones, and said it was because of the wicket.

“Balls on a length, back-of-a-length were working well on the wicket today (Monday). So, we tried that more as we got movement and extra bounce from those lengths. I just tried to do my basics well, nothing else. If I bowled too full, then I would have gone for boundaries and cost the team,” the pacer said.

Taskin also emphasised that it was a moment for celebration as this was Bangladesh’s first-ever win in the Super 12 phase of a World Cup.

“We have never won a match in Super 12. This is a big win for us. No team is a weak one in T20s. West Indies have been knocked out. So, this is a big win for us. Whomever we play against, we play to win. If we can maintain our process, we can do even better in the future,” Taskin added.

But the pacer’s hunger for success is nowhere near ending as he aims to only get better in the future.

“I still have room for improvement. I want to be a complete cricketer. My goal is to do whatever I want, swing the ball both ways, and contribute to the team’s win. I want to get two steps ahead. Every country has a world-class bowler. We do too. If we can all move a step ahead, everybody will value us. That’s the goal,” the player of the match said.