Miraz’s merry 2022

Mehidy Hasan Miraz had a sublime 2022 as an all-rounder as he played crucial roles with both bat and ball.

Miraz, since his debut for the national team in 2016, has often been treated as a bowler who can bat rather than his all-round abilities, something that was prevalent during his age-level days.

But in 2022, he finally broke out of that shackle to unleash both sides of his game. He ended the year with 24 wickets, the most by a Bangladeshi in the format, but it was his heroics with the bat that drew the eye.

In his first innings of the year, Miraz scored an unbeaten 81 to put together an unbroken 174-run stand for the seventh wicket with Afif Hossain to take Bangladesh home from 45-6 to victory over Afghanistan. But that was just the start of his list of miracles.

He ended the year with more flair as he won the player of the series award in the Tigers’ three-match series against India, which Bangladesh won 2-1, with both wins coming courtesy of the all-rounder.

In the first ODI, Bangladesh were reduced to 136-9 chasing 185 and a win looked improbable. But Miraz strung together a 51-run stand with Mustafizur Rahman for the final wicket, where he scored 38 runs off 39 balls hitting four fours and two sixes, and took Bangladesh to a miraculous win.

And then went better in the next match. This time, coming to the crease when Bangladesh were 69-6, scored his maiden ODI hundred on the final ball of the innings, and took Bangladesh to 275-7, which Bangladesh defended to win the series.

He ended the year with 330 runs in 10 innings, averaging an incredible 66.

Among his 24 wickets, four came against South Africa in the first ODI of the historic series win.