Shakib redeems old avatar in an economical bowling
Photo: Cricfrenzy
||CF Correspondent||
Bangladesh skipper Shakib al Hasan made a brilliant comeback against Afghanistan leaving behind his agony against Zimbabwe, in the tri-nation opener against Zimbabwe.
Shakib completed the 4-over quota against the Zimbabweans in the first match but was too shy to check the runs while the all-rounder was bowling.
Shakib’s 49 runs in four overs with 12.25 economy rate was the highest he has ever allowed in a T20 international match and that looked to be the talking point ahead of the game against Afghanistan.
However, it was a different case for the leading left-arm spinner of the country when he took 3-11 in his three overs that showed he had all the tricks under his sleeve to do well as a bowler at the international stage.
The way he used the crease was something worth while he was also keen to bowl in tighter length unlike the last game when he tried to seduce the batsmen with his flight.
In the recent past, Shakib was in the spotlight due to his batting than his bowling and in the recent past, it was often seen that he was not totally focused for his bowling unlike his batting considering the amount of time he spent in the nets with the willow.
Shakib seemed desperate to be back in form with bowl after the dismal show against Zimbabwe in the first match of the T20 tri-nation series also involving Afghanistan. After taking some extra care of his batting skills, Shakib now realizes it is high time to turn his focus towards bowling as the left armed spinner seen working with spin specialist Sohel Islam ahead of the match against Afghanistan in the on-going tri-nation tournament.
Worth to mention, Shakib enjoyed his last five-wicket haul against the same opponent in the World Cup. In 2018 Shakib bowled 40 overs in T20 cricket and picked 15 wickets with 6.65 economy rate while hakib’s only five-wicket haul also came in the year.
The left-armed spinner bowled 103 overs in 2019 taking 13 wickets including 11 in the World Cup. Shakib averaged 40.3 with the ball in 2019 while the previous year his average was 26.8 with 21 wickets by his name from 125 overs that he bowled.
In 50-over matches, Shakib’s best successful economical year was in 2009 with 3.48 rate and the year saw him taking 26 wickets from 170.3 overs with 22.8 runs average. The very next year, Shakib produced his most successful year taking 46 wickets throughout the season with 26.3 average.
Shakib was successful against Afghanistan in the solitary Test series taking 5 wickets combining both innings, but it the match was the only Test match that Bangladesh has played in 2019.
