Shakib al Hasan took two wickets in his very first over to give Bangladesh a tremendous start.
Shakib strikes twice in first over
Bangladesh captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza elected to field and gave the ball to Shakib al Hasan in the very first over. And the prolific all-rounder did not disappoint his skipper as Shakib took two wickets in his very first over to give Bangladesh a tremendous start. Zimbabwe lost their first wicket in the second ball of the match as Solomon Mire was sharply stumped by Mushfiqur Rahim for nought. Mire was beaten by the drift by Shakib and Mushfiq did the rest. Just two balls later, Shakib struck again and this time around, it was the wicket of Craig Ervine. The left-hander was caught at mid-wicket by Sabbir Rahman and Bangladesh made a great start. Zimbabwe never really turned around after such a nervous start and were eventually bowled out for just 170 in 49 overs.
Mashrafe places three slips, two gullys for Mustafizur
Mustafizur Rahman came back to the squad after his injury lay off. The left-arm pacer got injured just before the day of the first ODI in South Africa and was later ruled out from the limited-over series. So Mustafizur came back under watchful eyes as he is one of the main weapons of Bangladesh’s pace armoury. Mustafizur bowled really well in the first ODI against Zimbabwe and used the pitch and condition perfectly. After Mustafizur picked up the key wicket of Brendan Taylor (24 off 45 balls) off the fourth ball of the 17th over, Mashrafe set an attacking field for the new batsman Malcom Waller. Mashrafe set three slips and two gullys for the new batsman as Mustafizur created good pressure with his variation and slower deliveries. So besides the wicket-keeper, there were five men patrolling the slip and gully region, which was interesting to watch.
Shakib plays confidently at No 3
Bangladesh opted for a new No 3 batsman in their batting line-up. The Tigers are yet to find a consistent No 3 batsman in ODIs in the last few years. During Chandika Hathurusingha’s tenure, the Tigers tried Sabbir Rahman as the No 3 batsman. But before the series, the team management declared that they will try out Shakib as their new No 3 batsman. Meanwhile, Shakib opened the bowling for the Tigers and took two wickets in his very first over. As expected, he came out to bat at No 3 after Anamul Haque was dismissed for 19. Shakib scored 37 off 46 balls and formed a 78-run partnership with Tamim for the second wicket. Shakib struck five boundaries in his innings, which appeared promising initially. And so, yet another important role goes to Shakib from now onwards.
Source: Dhaka Tribune.
