Desk Reports :
Shakib Al Hasan holds the strap or ribbon of his helmet in his teeth while batting. This unique style, created to keep his head in the right position, is now his daily companion. And in this style, he occasionally plays eye-catching innings. After taking 3 wickets for 25 with the bat and 11 with the ball in the previous match in Antigua, the once world’s best all-rounder, who had become a rarity in Bangladesh cricket, once again shone on the stage of CPL.
Today, against St. Lucia Kings, Shakib seems to have arranged his innings with a perfect and flawless plan. 27 off the first 15 balls. Then 24 runs in the last over. Finally, an explosive fifty of 61 runs off 26 balls gave his team Antigua and Barbuda Falcons a fighting capital. After losing the toss, Shakib’s excellent batting helped Antigua score 204 runs.
When the team’s second wicket fell at 51 runs, Shakib came to the wicket. Although he started cautiously, he started playing shots slowly. Amir Jangu was at the other end. The two continued to take the team forward. Then, Antigua’s innings was filled with boundaries and sixes one after the other.
Shakib became aggressive towards the end. He reached fifty in just 20 balls, which was the fastest fifty for Antigua. In the end, he stopped playing a tornado innings of 61 runs off 26 balls. After a while, his partner Amir Jangu returned to the dressing room, scoring 56 runs off 43 balls.
Although the pace slowed down a bit with the departure of two steady batters, the runs increased again in the last over. 22 runs came in the 18th over. Antigua was stopped at 204 for 4 in the stipulated 20 overs. Towards the end, Fabian Allen played a stormy innings of 38 runs off 17 balls. This innings is the best in Shakib’s CPL career so far. At the same time, his fastest T20 is the fifth fastest fifty among foreigners in CPL.
