Bangladesh ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is probably in the peak stage of his career at the moment. He has been the difference maker for Bangladesh in the ongoing World Cup with his terrific performances. Not only performances, he is also breaking records, creating new ones, setting new milestones and making history. On Monday’s 62-run triumph against Afghanistan, Shakib yet again proved his worth and almost single-handedly dismantled the Afghans.
The veteran all-rounder backed up his 51-run innings with a five-wicket haul to bundle out Afghanistan for 200 in pursuit of the 263-run target, keeping Tigers’ semifinals hope very much alive. The only other player who scored 50-plus runs and took a fifer in the same World Cup match was Yuvraj Singh against Ireland in the 2011 World Cup. Shakib joins Yuvraj and Kapil Dev as the only players to have scored a century and claimed a fifer in a World Cup. Shakib also became the solitary player to score 1,000 runs and take 30 wickets in World Cup history.
Shakib is one of the tournaments leading run-getter. He has scored 476 runs and taken 10 wickets in this World Cup in six games. No player had scored over 400 runs and taken 10 or more wickets previously in a World Cup. Now, Shakib is on the brink of creating history and rewrite history books, by making that record to his name. The best all-round World Cup performances include Lance Klussner’s 281 runs and 17 wickets in 1999 World Cup and Yuvraj’s 362 runs and 15 wickets in 2011.
Tigers’ looked very impressive in the win against Afghanistan. That match will go down in the cricket history as an unique individual performance for Shakib. The way he is playing it seems sky is his limit. With achieving feats like these, Shakib is taking himself on a different level. He is not only the greatest cricketer Bangladesh have ever produced but also one of the greatest all-rounder and player ever to play the game.
