Twitter Reactions: Shakib Al Hasan lights up the Sophia Gardens with an awe-inspiring ton against England

There’s no doubt in the fact that Shakib Al Hasan is one of the greatest cricketers Bangladesh has ever produced if not the world. He has shown the same even in the ongoing World Cup in England and Wales. In the first two games versus South Africa and New Zealand, he scored a couple of half-centuries. Moreover, the Jessore-born also stepped up with wickets in the hour of need.

In his previous knocks, the experienced campaigner couldn’t convert his starts into a substantial score. However, on Saturday in the Tigers’ match against hosts and favorites England at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, the 32-year-old notched up his eighth ODI century. The southpaw came to bat after the Three Lions put up a mammoth score of 386 for the loss of six wickets in 50 overs.

In a quest to chase down 387, Bangladesh lost both their openers- Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar- in the first 12 overs with the score reading 63. He took his time initially and had Mushfiqur Rahim as his partner. The left-hander rotated the strike to good effect and also picked up the odd boundary even as the required rate kept mounting. Shakib accomplished his half-century off 53 deliveries.

Shakib Al Hasan marches on

Their 50-run stand was raised in 56 balls, but Bangladesh needed to score at a much faster rate. They even brought up their century-run stand off 97 balls. To Shakib’s dismay, he lost Mushfiqur, who perished after scoring 44 off 50. In the very next over, Mohammad Mithun fell prey to Adil Rashid as the Tigers lost their fourth wicket and were well and truly looking down the barrel.

When both the wickets fell, Shakib was into his 90s. After the quick wickets, the very experienced Mahmudullah joined Shakib in the middle. Nevertheless, Shakib didn’t press the panic button by any stretch of the imagination. He held his nerve and got to his hundred off 95 balls.

He drove Jofra Archer through the covers for a single to accomplish his milestone. After the batting masterclass,  Twitter heaped praises on Shakib. His last ODI century came way back in 2017 against New Zealand in Cardiff itself. He would be happy after his two-year-long wait for a ton came to an end.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the superlative ton