Taskin Ahmed picks the 5th hat-trick by a Bangladesh bowler in ODI cricket

Bangladesh continue to impress in Sri Lanka as their premier fast bowler Taskin Ahmed picked up a hat-trick in the second ODI at Dambulla. The 21-year old achieved this feat in the final over of the Sri Lanka innings. With that, Taskin became only the fifth man to pick an ODI hat-trick for Bangladesh. The elite list includes Shahadat Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain and Taijul Islam. Nuwan Pradeep was the third victim of Taskin’s hattrick as he was cleaned up by an in-swinging yorker.

The elite list includes popular Bangladeshi names like Shahadat Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain and Taijul Islam. The right-arm pacer picked a wicket in his first spell while the Sri Lankans were going hammer and tongs bashing all the Bangladeshi bowlers including the ever so consistent and economical Mutafizur Rahman.

His first victim during the hat-trick was allrounder Asela Gunaratne, who went for the big shot but as a rare instance failed to connect the ball as well as he would have liked and so couldn’t clear mid-off as Soumya Sarkar took a smart catch at the edge of the circle.

When you are riding on luck, even the worst of deliveries pick you a wicket. It came true for Tuskin tonight as Suranga Lakmal the next man to be dismissed hit a rather innocuous full toss to Mustafizur Rahman at mid-wicket while he could have planted it anywhere on the on-side.

The last man, Nuwan Pradeep was the third victim, sensing a great opportunity to complete a hat-trick he bowled probably the best ball in any fast bowlers arsenal an in-swinging yorker and poor Pradeep had no answers. His stumps were shattered and Taskin was all over celebrating his hat-trick.

He returned with figures of 4/47 off his 8.5 overs. This was the 22-year-old’s first four-wicket haul in ODI cricket. Bangladesh are in the middle of a great overseas tour. After draw leveling the Test series, they came into the 2nd ODI 1-0 ahead.

After conceding heavily in the first 40 overs they pegged the Sri Lankan’s back in the death overs, picking 6 wickets in the last five overs before the game was abandoned due to incessant rains. The third and final ODI will be played on Saturday at the SSC in Colombo.