Impactful Najmul proves his value

Najmul Hossain Shanto has been consistent in the 20-over format since the last T20 World Cup in terms of runs as he ended that tournament as the Tigers’ top-scorer, and then ended the ninth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League with 516 runs, most by a Bangladeshi ever, earning him the Player of the Tournament award.

However, all that was washed up by the question of his strike rate, which hovered under 120, thus putting up the question that whether those runs really had an impact in a format where scoring quickly is weighed in gold.

In the 2022 T20 World Cup, Najmul struck it at 114.64, while it was 116.74 in the BPL. On Thursday though, against the defending World Champions, the left-handed batter put on an exhibition and displayed what his impact can be.

Against the defending World Champions, Najmul notched up 51 runs off just 30 balls, hitting eight fours and scoring at a strike rate of 170, a knock that set up the Tigers’ comfortable six-wicket win.

He is known for starting off slow but that was not the case in Chattogram. Najmul was given LBW off Adil Rashid, a decision that was overturned following a review, and in the next ball, the batter crashed the leggie through extra cover. That was just the start.

In the first over following the powerplay, Najmul launched carnage on Mark Wood, the pacer who would eventually get his wicket after being battered.

The first ball, Najmul somewhat miscued the shot just over the fielder at mid-on. The second, he pulled through mid-wicket with ease before pulling out a beautiful straight drive for four in the next and then capped it off with another pull through mid-wicket.

He never stopped and picked up his fifty off just 27 balls, third overall and quickest in T20Is by far. By the time Wood rattled his stumps, the required run rate was already under six, meaning the rest was a cakewalk.

However, his brilliant innings was not his only contribution in the match as he fielded brilliantly throughout the English innings, taking three catches and also stopping a six in the final ball, saving four runs.

Following the match, Najmul emphasised on the fact that his prior form helped him gain confidence.

“I have scored consistently. When a batter scores that way, there is a different confidence. I think I had a good idea about building my innings. I only tried to apply that,” he said.

The left-handed batter also said that he only tried to imply the ‘see the ball, hit the ball’ process.

“I got a good start and tried to keep up that momentum. The plan was normal without thinking of anything extraordinary. I just saw the ball and reacted to it accordingly,” Najmul said.