ESPNcricinfo
Shamim Hossain, in his second T20I, is under pressure. Three fruitless slogs in the 18th over later, Bangladesh need 25 off 15 balls. The game has wildly swung both ways until this point. Dion Myers had conceded just three off his first three balls; Sikandar Raza's move to bowl him seemed a gamble that could pay off.
Shamim is possibly thinking of his dismissal in the second T20I after he gave Bangladesh hope through his 13-ball 29. Here he was again, in a situation that was even more tricky. There was a series to be won. He simply had to strike.
And strike he did. He thumped Myers for three fours: a forehand smash through covers, a reverse bunt past a diving short third man and a fierce pull over midwicket. Then, he kept his head through Blessing Muzarabani's penultimate over to all but seal the contest. He then finished the game off by hitting the winning runs. He remained unbeaten on 31 off just 15 balls, hitting six fours, five of which came in the last three overs.
The match had already started to turn in Bangladesh's favour during the third-wicket stand between Mahmudullah and Soumya Sarkar, but it needed a final push from the Mahmudullah-Hossain partnership, after Afif Hossain's dismissal.
"Riyad bhai told me that we can get ten an over if we can hit a six or a four every over," he said. "It will get us close to their target. I maintained my process during this situation."
Soumya Sarkar, whose 68 set up Bangladesh's push towards the big chase, was impressed with Shamim's desire. "He played an important innings," the senior batter said. "He was very positive. I really liked how hungry he was to win the game. This was only his second international match, but finished the game very well."
Shamim made a mark during Bangladesh's victorious Under-19 World Cup campaign last year. The senior team's selectors and team management had a better look during this season's Dhaka Premier League T20s. But despite doing well at these levels, Shamim said that his short crash course of international cricket during these T20Is told him what is needed at this level.
An altogether different challenge awaits Shamim when Bangladesh take on Australia in the five T20Is from August 3 in Dhaka. The hunger can easily be replaced by a sense of accomplishment, and that's one very critical area that Shamim needs to guard himself against.
