Against Afghanistan in Southampton, Shakib Al Hasan first excelled with the bat, getting to his fifth 50-plus score from six innings at the 2019 World Cup, and then weaved magic with the ball to keep Bangladesh well and truly alive in their semi-final hunt. Richard Whitehead revisits his brilliance in the 2020 Wisden Almanack.
First published in the 2020 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack
Bangladesh v Afghanistan
Match 31, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019
The Ageas Bowl, Southampton
June 24, 2019
There may be no truth in the rumour that Clark Kent dons a Shakib Al Hasan shirt during his downtime in Metropolis, but Shakib continued his run of superhero performances to maintain Bangladesh’s ambitions of gatecrashing the semi-finals.
After hitting his fifth 50-plus score of the competition, he intelligently exploited a helpful pitch to take five for 29, then the best figures of the tournament, and Bangladesh’s first World Cup five-for. Only India’s Yuvraj Singh – against Ireland at Bangalore in 2010-11 – had previously hit a fifty and claimed five in the same World Cup match.
Bangladesh’s cool professionalism contrasted sharply with a disappointing Afghanistan display. Captain Gulbadin Naib rued his team’s shoddy fielding, and his bowlers’ inability to locate the right lengths, but their malaise ran deeper: they looked like a side waking up to the realities of international sport. Put in on a used pitch, Bangladesh had proceeded unhurriedly towards a total they calculated would be out of reach, though Mujeeb Zadran – opening the bowling with his off-breaks – kept things tight.
Mushfiqur Rahim continued his good form with 83 from 87 balls, and later completed two stumpings. Afghanistan negotiated the first powerplay without mishap, then foundered against Shakib: after seven overs, he had four for ten. Samiullah Shenwari’s attractive unbeaten 49 off 51 raised questions about why this was his first game of the tournament.
