Sports Desk :
Allrounder Shakib Al Hasan became the third man to hit a hundred and take 10 wickets in the same match as Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by 162 runs in the second Test to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Shakib made 137 runs in the first innings and took five wickets in Zimbabwe’s first innings in Khulna. He could only manage six runs in his second batting effort, but continued to pick wickets in the fourth innings of the match. He returned with a match figure of 10-124.
With this enviable feat, he has joined the legends of the game like Ian Botham and Imran Khan.
The left-handed batsman, whose primary role in the team is that of a bowler in the team, made his Test debut against visiting India at Chittagong in 2007. In his 36 Test matches, the slow left-arm orthodox bowler has scalped 139 wickets, besides contributing with 2441 runs, which includes three hundreds and 16 fifties.
Shakib, who hit 137 in the first innings, joined England’s Ian Botham and Pakistan’s Imran Khan to take 10 wickets and score a century in a test. Botham and Imran both accomplished the feat in 1980 Tests against India.
“I had my eye on taking 10 wickets and scoring a hundred. I was lucky,” Shakib said.
“It wasn’t easy to score runs but difficult to get out, too, once you settled in.
“It was turning a lot on the last day. I put the ball in the right areas and it worked. It’s a great feeling to lead a series 2-0 and, hopefully, we’ll keep on doing this in the future series as well.”
“It was a very good team effort, especially the stand between Mominul and Mahmudullah, and Shuvagata’s 50 later on,” Shakib said. “Taijul bowled very well and I did my part, too.”
Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh’s captain, also praised Shakib, calling the allrounder a “special player”. He admitted, however, that the side still had to work on a few areas, going into the final Test in Chittagong.
“We needed the win and knew it was not going to be easy, the credit goes to all the boys. Shakib is a very special player,” Mushfiqur said. “There was a big improvement in our batting from Tamim and Shakib. There are areas to improve, especially in our batting, and we’ll think about our tactics and work on them.
The third Test starts on Wednesday at Chittagong.
