BAN v AUS, 1st Test: CT player of the match - Shakib Al Hasan

A day to remember for the Tigers as their stalwart Shakib Al Hasan’s all-round brilliance helped them inflict a stunning victory against Australia. Just when the Aussie fans were breathing normally watching David Warner and Steve Smith taking charge, things changed drastically after the former fell just before drinks break.

The protagonist of this amazing fairy tale Shakib dismantled the Aussie middle and lower order just when it mattered the most. Warner was breathing fire and he was keen to finish the game off as soon as possible. At 158/2, they needed less than a 100 with a lot of overs left and with Warner and Smith in the middle, an Aussie seemed like a mere formality.

But the left-arm spinner trapped the dashing opener in front of the stumps and the wickets fell like a pack of cards. Shakib added another huge scalp to his tally when he got the big fish Steve Smith caught behind. Maxwell and Peter Handscomb, two players who generally play spin well, failed to add anything significant on the board and despite Pat Cummins heroics, Shakib’s tremendous five-fer helped them win the game by 20 runs.

Shakib-Tamim partnership that set the tone

After losing early wickets in the first innings, Bangladesh was staring at a paltry total. But Tamim Iqbal and Shakib had other ideas and the duo managed to build a breathtaking partnership. The managed to soak in the pressure and at a stage runs started to galore freely. Shakib got to his 22nd Test fifty and the duo kept marching on.

They added 155 runs for the 4th wicket and Steve Smith said in the post match conference that this partnership was the main reason behind Aussies ending on the losing side. The 30-year-old was dismissed by a peach from Nathan Lyon, but not before registering an outstanding 84 off 133 balls which included 11 boundaries. The lower order crumbled

The lower order crumbled, later on, they managed to score 260 in their first innings. As though he did less damage with the bat, the world number-one all-rounder managed to inflict further damage with the ball, reducing to 15/3 at the end of Day 1. He got some big wickets the next day and helped his side gain an invaluable 43-run first innings lead.

By picking up a five-fer in the first innings, he became one of the few Test cricketers in history to pick a five-wicket haul against 9 Test playing nations and the quickest to achieve that feat in terms of number of matches played (50 Tests). He was dismissed early in the second innings, but Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim’s resilience helped them post a 265-run target for the visitors.

The hosts managed to pull off their first ever Test victory with Shakib picking up a 10-wicket haul and scoring a splendid half-century. It was a moment to remember for the cricketers and their fans as this victory embarked their rise in Test cricket as well. They’ve been brilliant in Limited overs, but their ability in the longest format was under the scrutiny. Being the catalyst behind this amazing win, Shakib Al Hasan is the CT player of the match.