Bangladesh cricket team’s fast bowling coach Allan Donald was all praises for Shakib al Hasan following day three’s play of the second and final Test match against Sri Lanka at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium Wednesday.
Donald in admiration of Shakib as a bowler revealed that former destructive South Africa batter AB de Villiers says it is tough to get down to Shakib and the legendary South African pacer believes that proves how hard it is to face the ace all-rounder.
The rain affected day allowed only 50 overs of play and saw Sri Lanka reach within 83 runs of Bangladesh's first innings total with five wickets in hand.
Bangladesh were able to pick up only three wickets including that of captain Dimuth Karunaratne for 80 with Shakib finishing as the best bowler of the day with figure of three for 59.
Shakib was after the Sri Lanka batters with brilliant bowling spells and turns and in the process first removed Karunaratne.
The left-arm spinner had tossed the ball up on off, inviting the batter to drive.
Karunaratne fell for the bait and ended leaving a gap between bat and pad for the ball to sneak through and hit the middle stump.
The occasion was perhaps the first sign of any real turn on the day.
Thirty one overs later, Shakib struck again this time to break a strong fifth-wicket stand between Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva.
Shakib had tossed this one up too and drew Dhananjaya into forward defense.
The ball spun past to the wicket-keeper Liton Das kissing the bat for an edge.
Shakib was uncertain and the on-field umpire had turned the appeal down.
Bangladesh, however, asked for a review and it successfully went in the hosts’ favor.
There was a feint spike as the ball passed the bat and that had sent Dhananjaya back to the dressing room on 58 and break the partnership on 102 runs.
“What more can you teach a bloke [Shakib] like that, is my question. Like Shane Warne, the guy is so experienced. He is well traveled. He lands them on a string. I know him and [Bangladesh spin bowling coach Rangana] Herath have been quite close whenever they need a chat or two,” said former South Africa fast bowler Donald to the media at SBNCS Wednesday.
“It is nice to hear Shakib talk about spin bowling in his own world. I have been a great admirer of Shakib. When AB [de Villiers] says it is tough to get down to Shakib, then it must be tough. He is a smart operator. He changes his pace really subtly. He showed again, chipped away. Hopefully he walks away with a five-wicket haul [Thursday]. It is awesome to have him in the team. His experience and leadership are priceless,” he added.
Going into the fourth day of the game and with opponents Sri Lanka in a position to win, Donald pressed the need for Bangladesh to start well and get some wickets early.
The former Proteas pacer expects the Bangladesh fast bowlers to make some impact.
So far in the game, only pacer Ebadat Hossain has been able to get wickets – two – for Bangladesh.
On day three, right-arm pacer Ebadat had his second wicket removing nightwatchman Kasun Rajitha early in the morning.
Throughout the day he remained wicketless other than that but earned praise for being disciplined.
“Ebadat was outstanding [Wednesday]. You know when you see someone in the warm-up, and you know something about him will click. Scoreboard doesn’t reflect the way he bowled. He could have walked away with four or five wickets. That’s what the spell was worth. Khaled (Ahmed) hasn’t really got it quite right, but (Thursday) is a massive day. We need some early poles in the morning. The pitch too gives us a bit to work with every morning,” said Donald.
