In a league of his own

Bangladesh's premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan became the first player to have scored more than 2500 runs and also to have picked 100 wickets at a single venue -- the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur -- during the Tigers' second ODI against the West Indies yesterday.

After his unbeaten 50-ball 43 and two for 30 in 10 overs with the ball yesterday, Shakib has now scored a total of 2534 runs with two hundreds and 21 fifties and scalped a total of 119 wickets in Mirpur. He is only after teammate Tamim Iqbal, who is top of the list of most runs scored at a single venue with 2713 runs in 80 matches, including five hundreds and 18 fifties, in Mirpur. Shakib is also second to Wasim Akram for most wickets at a single venue, the Pakistani legend took 122 wickets in 77 matches at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Playing in his 82nd ODI in Mirpur, Shakib achieved the feat when he struck West Indies medium-pacer Raymon Reifer for a boundary towards the backward point in the 22nd over. This achievement of Shakib comes on the back of a lot of speculation that has been going around regarding his return to form since being reinstated in international arena following a one-year ban imposed by the ICC in October 2019.  

Shakib had marked his return to with an astounding bowling display, taking four wickets for eight runs in 7.2 overs in the first ODI on Wednesday. But the 33-year-old, who had played a number of domestic games before returning to the international stage, had been struggling to get runs since his return.

He was part of a star-studded Gemcon Khulna team that won the Bangabandhu T20 Cup in December last year. Shakib was decent with his bowling in that tournament but the ace all-rounder struggled to get runs. He scored a total of 110 runs in nine games at an average of 12.22 in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup. 

Bangladesh cricket fans have been waiting for Shakib to get back to groove with the willow and his unbeaten knock yesterday is sure to give them a massive sigh of relief.