The Shakib Al Hasan Show

Well, the sight seems so familiar that it seems normal. Bangladesh win a big game and it is Shakib Al Hasan at the fore, leading the line, coming up with the goods, and finishing the opponent off.

Bangladesh came into the third and final One-Day International against England with almost nothing to gain but the record of not getting clean swept at home to lose. And until Shakib stepped up, it looked like that record was out of the window.

Batting first, Bangladesh were in trouble early, and while Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim rebuilt the innings, the run rate never got going.

However, once Shakib stepped in, that was not the case anymore. He rotated the strike effectively and found the odd boundary, ensuring that the run-wheel kept spinning.

The all-rounder though was left short of support as none of Mahmudullah Riyad, Afif Hossain, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz could last for the significant final overs, meaning Shakib had to go alone at dragging the Tigers beyond 250.

He could not but his 75 runs off 71 balls ensured that Bangladesh had 246 on the board, not a good score on the pitch but still something for the bowlers to work on.

However, that total was looking small as Jason Roy and Phil Salt were on an assault early on, adding 55 in the first nine until Shakib got rid of both in his first two overs.

Then, he got the dangerous-looking Vince with a brilliant delivery and then got rid of Rehan Ahmed to ensure Bangladesh’s path to victory.

The wicket of Rehan was Shakib’s 300th in ODIs, the first Bangladeshi to reach that landmark and 14th overall. He is also now the only active cricketer to have 300 or more wickets in the format.

Not just that, Shakib also became the third cricketer to reach the double of 6,000 runs and 300 wickets, only behind Sanath Jayasuriya and Shahid Afridi, all while doing it faster than anybody else.

He also became the first cricketer to pick up a fifty and four wickets in the same match four times, and fifty plus three or more wickets nine times, the highest in history.

Shakib’s performance, expectedly, drew praise from skipper Tamim Iqbal.

“I think Shakib’s performance was amazing. He has done some amazing stuff for us over his career. Any team will be blessed to have a player like him,” he said.

“The way he batted, especially with the tail-enders, those 20-25 runs were very important. Honestly, the wicket didn’t have that much spin, but the way he bowled was brilliant.

“I think he is mentally very strong. Most of the time you will see him come out of pressure situations with similar performances. He has done it in the past,” Tamim added.

Records and Shakib have become synonymous for a decade now, and as Bangladesh needed at least a confidence booster ahead of the Twenty20 Internationals series, the greatest Bangladeshi cricketer stepped up and provided that.

Now, he moves on to the shortest format, where he will lead the side and the Tigers will hope that Shakib continues on his Superman self and help them find wins there too.