Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal is known for his hard-hitting mentality. Since his inception in world cricket in 2007, the left-handed batsman has developed himself as one of its big hitters. However with time, he has matured too. The gritty match-winning unbeaten 130 in the first of the three-match ODI series against West Indies at Guyana on Sunday was evidence to the fact of his realisation that not always does he have to go after the bowlers but he has to shed his natural instincts for the better.
Tamim Iqbal with the slowest century by a Bangladesh batsman in ODIs - 146 ballshttps://t.co/3OsOKBhhh8 #WIvBAN pic.twitter.com/RvCl8P2Dhh
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) July 22, 2018
The wicket at Providence Stadium on Sunday was typical - with big cracks it not only aided the spinners but the pacers mixing variation made a lot from it. Bangladesh going to bat first after winning the toss had lost opener Anamul Haque for a duck in just the second over of the day. However from there, Bangladesh saw its two senior men, Tamim and Shakib Al Hasan, take charge and produce an extraordinary effort and guide the side to a 48-run win over the hosts. The win was significant to the side given the suffering it has gone through in the Test series, specially the batsmen who were humbled by the Windies bowlers.
Tamim registered his 10th ODI hundred and produce a record 207-run stand with Shakib who was unfortunate to get dismissed on 97. Tamim in only the third opener for Bangladesh to stay unbeaten at the end of an innings, batting first, but none of the previous openers had contributed to a win. Tamim's 130 off 160 balls provided the structure to the Bangladesh batting which went missing in the Test series. Seven out of his ten ODI hundreds have brought victory to Bangladesh.
Watch the highlights of West Indies vs Bangladesh, 1st ODI. https://t.co/FxUxZ2IovM
— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) July 23, 2018
Tamim had reached the century in 143 balls, the slowest as a Bangladesh batsman and played the most balls in a game as a Bangladesh batsman. But all the criticism he received initially for batting too slow were overpowered once the match ended and it was evident that the Windies had struggled even more to score big and build meaningful partnerships. It was perhaps this watchful nature of the Tamim-Shakib partnership that made Mushfiqur Rahim play an explosive innings. The wicket-keeper batsman on this day also batted uncharacteristically - he did not take time to settle but rather went for the bowlers for the word go and added a blazing 11-ball 30 with three boundaries and two sixes.
"A match-winning innings is always special. It wasn't a wicket to bat on. We (Tamim and Shakib) had to work really hard to get to a strong position. It was spinning as well as helping the fast bowlers at least till the 25th over. We just planned to dig in and without thinking about the score, stretch the innings as long as possible," said an elated Tamim to the media at the end of the game at Providence on Sunday.
Tamim also credited Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza for his outstanding leadership and vision in the game. The veteran right-arm pacer had almost missed the series because of his wife’s illness. But when he showed up as the last member of the team he managed turn things around and changed the mood in the team to a positive one for the first time in four weeks. Mashrafe following heroic efforts the batsmen, ensured a flawless follow-up as he bagged four wickets and lead the way with his smart bowling and fantastic bowling changes. He bowled cutters to take the pace off the ball on a surface that was offering more grip and it consistently troubled the likes of Chris Gayle giving a blueprint of the way to bowl in this surface.
After a horror Test series, Bangladesh bounce back in the first ODI with their senior players stepping up! https://t.co/mYd0KF4ONn #WIvBAN pic.twitter.com/G6Q35V6aja
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) July 23, 2018
"We had a target in our minds and because of Mushfiqur's cameo, we got 20 runs more. Mushfiqur was brilliant. With the ball Mashrafe was extraordinary and most of it had come from his experience. His captaincy was flawless with the bowling changes and setting the right fields. All in all, it was a perfect day for the team in the middle," said Tamim.
