Shakib Al Hasan didn’t regret not finishing the game

The finish to Bangladesh’s chase would have been picture perfect had its hero Shakib Al Hasan finished the game and walked back to the dressing room unbeaten. The pressure was mounting on the left-hander with each passing day as in his last five ODIs before last night, he didn’t have any score above 30. But on an occasion when it mattered the most, he delivered, and how.

Bangladesh were 33-4 chasing 266 against New Zealand in what was a do-or-die game at Sophia Gardens on Friday and Shakib delivered in style. Regardless of how tense the situation for Bangladesh was, the 30-year old did not show any signs of anxiety and kept playing his natural game and maintained a cool composure. And he exactly banked upon these pros in him when the going got tough.

Shakib and Mahmudullah rebuilt the initial damage done by Southee. They then played attacking innings and kept the required run-rate well within reach against some quality fast bowling.“All I was thinking of was to bat as long as I can as there were a lot of overs left. We didn’t get the opportunity to bat for such a long time in recent times. So my plan was to bat as long as I could and when [Mahmudullah] Riyad

“All I was thinking of was to bat as long as I can as there were a lot of overs left. We didn’t get the opportunity to bat for such a long time in recent times. So my plan was to bat as long as I could and when [Mahmudullah] Riyad bhai came and batted freely, it released the pressure off me and the way he batted was brilliant,” said Shakib after the game.

No regrets says the architect of the win 

When he reached his fifty and even his seventh hundred, he was not seen celebrating at all, probably because he was more interested in finishing the game for his team rather than personal celebrations. But that didn’t happen. And when asked if he regretted not finishing the game, Shakib said, “No regret, as it won’t go with me to the grave.”