Shakib Al Hasan. Photo: Collected File
Shakib did the damage with the bat in the Powerplay before Chris Lynn finished off the chase as Montreal Tigers won by seven wickets against Mississauga Panthers yesterday in the Global T20 Canada league.
Coming in to bat at number three in the second over in chase of Panthers’ 140 for six, Shakib opened his account with a drive through mid-on for four. Pacer Jaskarandeep was then whipped off through square leg for another boundary in the next delivery.
Left-arm spinner Praveen Kumar bore the brunt of Shakib’s aggression as a favourable matchup in the fifth over of the innings, conceding 20 runs in four deliveries. The first four came after a misconnected shot cleared short third-man and ran away for four. Shakib then cleared the front foot for a flat six through mid-on before dancing down the track to hit the next delivery straight down the ground for another maximum that sailed well past the ropes. He swept well for another four to reach 30 in 13 deliveries. A drive through extra cover for four also brought an end to the carnage as tempo fell off after the Powerplay.
He departed in the ninth over, being lulled forward by an Usman Qadir delivery before the googly beat him with the wicket-keeper Azam Khan quick to take off the bails. Replays did not appear to be conclusive enough and when the decision of out was given, Shakib walked off disappointedly after a 24-ball 36.
Chris Lynn thrashed a 45-ball 64 with nine fours and a six. He followed up the 60-run stand with Shakib to put on a 59-run partnership with Sherfane Rutherford to take Tigers to a seven-wicket win with 4.1 overs to spare.
Earlier, Shakib bagged a wicket for 28 runs while left-arm seamer Kaleem Sana bagged three for eight runs as Montreal restricted the Panthers to 140 despite James Neesham’s fifty.
Shakib had also taken the wicket of compatriot Liton Das during an all-round performance in Montreal’s previous game which ended in a five-wicket win.
