Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal ended his overseas century draught with a breathtaking 128 ball-126 against New Zealand in the recently concluded first Test against New Zealand at Hamilton.
He followed it up with another blistering 74 runs knock in the second innings and those two knocks reminded Tamim of his old, when he was used to terrorize any kind of bowling line up.
His attacking batting at the top of the order prompted many to compare him with Indian former opener Virender Sehwag who was known for his ability to cut through any bowling line in disdain.
Tamim’s ninth Test century however was his first overseas century since the Old Trafford heroics during his career-defining England tour in 2010. In that tour he stood tall amid Bangladesh’s batting debacle to hit two consecutive centuries in Lord’s and Old Trafford, both of which came at a strike rate of 100.
The Lord’s century achieved from 94 balls, that made him the fastest Test centurion of the country solely until Soumya Sarkar shared the feat with another 94 ball-100 during his 149 runs knock against New Zealand in the first Test. In all the Hamilton Test century is Tamim’s fourth century in foreign condition.
Dubbed as the most attacking batsman of the country has ever seen during the beginning of his career, Tamim Iqbal however couldn’t keep up the attacking instinct like Sehwag during the most part of his career.
After those two centuries in Lord’s and Old Trafford against ominous swing of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, Tamim tasted a poor run of form that forced him to curb his aggression and concentrate on keeping his wicket for the sake of the team.
And that slow batting in Test cricket also affected his ODI batting mode that resulted a lower strike rate, which sometimes didn’t match with the style of modern cricket. He was criticized for his slow batting even though he became more consistent than any other time in his career.
In those periods his Test and ODI batting average was comfortably over 50 but the slowness with which he scored those runs were sometimes not a treat to watch. He also increased the range of shots to make him technically better than any other player of the country.
