'My best performance'
'My best performance'
Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan yesterday added yet another feather to his already illustrious cap by becoming only the third player in Test cricket to score a century and take ten wickets in a match, propelling him in the same echelons with Ian Botham and Imran Khan. The 27-year-old all-rounder feels it is a great honour to be bracketed with two of the greatest all-rounders of all time.
"I heard of the record from a journalist a few weeks ago. I was lucky and fortunate to have done it," said the man-of-the-match Shakib during his post-match reaction.
However, the 27-year-old all-rounder feels it was his contribution towards the team's success which is more pleasing for him than the individual record.
“It's really big if you can bracket my name with them (Botham and Khan) as they are great players. But my duty is to perform for my team and my only motto is to perform for my team and country,” said Shakib, adding that he never idolised any particular player, rather took pleasure in watching good performances. “Actually I didn't follow any particular player. I loved to watch anyone whether it's good bowling or good batting or good fielding. I never thought I would be like someone else in my career, so in a sense no one was my idol. I always tried to establish my own identity,” said the all-rounder, who has amassed 2441 runs and 139 wickets in his 36-Test career so far.
Considering the match situation and pitch condition, Shakib judged this performance as the best of his career but made it clear that he was looking for more success in the coming days.
“If I consider everything, it's the best performance of my career. But I believe it is possible to perform even better. You never know if I can continue to improve then the performance may be much better,” said a confident Shakib.
Shakib felt his five-wicket haul in the second innings, on a pitch that was not necessarily assisting the spinners a great deal, was crucial to the outcome.
“They had two-and-half sessions on their hand and if they could have done it (negotiated), the match would have ended in a draw. It was very difficult to take wickets on this pitch even on the fifth day. So, considering that the five-wicket haul in the second innings was really important for me,” he added.
The way Shakib performed in this Test, it would have been a fitting end to the match had the all-rounder taken the last wicket. He almost had the last man Tendai Chatara caught at mid-on, only to find Shahadat Hossain spill the ball through his hands. Shakib was seemingly frustrated at the time, but felt better when left-arm spinner Taijul Islam brought an end to the proceedings in the first ball of the very next over.
“Honestly speaking I was excited because it could have been better for me had I finished the game. But at that moment I didn't feel as bad as I had already completed the five-wicket haul,” said Shakib with a wry smile.
In the end captain Mushfiqur Rahim preserved the best accolade for Shakib as the little man jokingly said: “Hope he will continue his performance and also give us some opportunity to perform.”
Test Turners
- Bangladesh are now ranked ninth in the ICC Test rankings and have overtaken Zimbabwe. Even if they lose the next Test they will be ahead by two points.
- This is Bangladesh's sixth win in 87 matches and their fourth against Zimbabwe. This also their first series win since 2009.
- The win is Mushfiqur Rahim's third as a captain, the most
- by any Bangladeshi.
- Taijul Islam bowled Malcolm Waller with a delivery that bounced twice. This was the second time that a Bangladeshi bowler got a wicket in this manner after Mohammad
Ashraful got AB de Villiers caught in 2008 that witnessed a similarly bizarre dismissal.