Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has become only the 2nd player after former Kiwis captain Richard Hadlee to take 10 wickets and score a fifty in the same match. Shakib achieved the feat in the opening Test against Australia which Bangladesh won by 20 runs and created history. It is the first time the Bangla Tigers won a Test against Australia in their 17 years international career in Test cricket.
The all-rounder had a brilliant game and was the primary reason behind Bangladesh’s remarkable victory. The southpaw scored a brilliant 84 in the 1st innings and ensured Bangladesh reached a decent score of 260 under testing conditions. It was not easy to bat on but still, Shakib and Tamim ensured the hosts went past the 250 mark.
With the ball in hand, he left arm orthodox spinner spun the web around the Aussie batsmen in both the innings and bagged 10 wickets in the match. He bowled in the right areas and allowed the pitch to do the rest. His deliveries turned sharply on occasions which created a confusion among the batsmen’s mind.
Especially in the second essay when the Aussies were going great guns with David Warner and captain Steve Smith playing extremely well, it was Shakib who broke the shackles and delivered the killer punch by removing the dangerman, Steve Smith. He then removed Peter Handscomb, Mathew Wade, and Glenn Maxwell in quick succession to put the visitors under tremendous pressure. Eventually, it was Taijul Islam who finished the match with the wicket of Josh Hazlewood thus handing the home team a 20 runs victory.
It will be a great opportunity for the hosts to create history and drub the mighty Aussies 2-0 which they had predicted earlier in the series. Captain Steve Smith was surprised to know that the opposition camp was thinking of a 2-0 result in their favour as Bangladesh had won only a handful of Test matches till now but they should have got a taste of their medicine and will look to come well prepared for the second match in Chittagong to save themselves from the blushes of a 2-0 drubbing.