Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam became the 116th player to represent Bangladesh in one-day internationals, and 2207th overall in the history of 50-over cricket, when he made his debut in the fifth and final match of the series against Zimbabwe in Mirpur yesterday.
And he made it an occasion to remember by grabbing a hattrick – the very first in ODI history by a debutant. The 22-year old ended with miserly bowling figures of 4/11 in seven overs as Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe by five wickets and subsequently whitewashed the visitors.
That the Tigers eventually made it five ODI wins out of five against the Southern African nation was largely down to Taijul’s exertion with the leather. Taijul is now the fourth Bangladeshi bowler to take an ODI hattrick after Shahadat Hossain, Abdur Razzak and Rubel Hossain.
More than the hattrick itself, the Tigers will be pleased with the fact that they have unearthed another genuine left-arm spinner. Taijul recently made his Test debut in the West Indies and exhibited his talents in his very first innings scalping 5/135.
And in the three Test matches against Zimbabwe that preceded the ODIs, Taijul grabbed the headlines once again registering the best ever bowling figures in an innings – 8/39 - by a Bangladeshi bowler in five-day cricket.
All that remained to be seen was if he could continue to be consistent. His latest heroics yesterday, however, put paid to all the lingering doubts.
Coming back to his record feat, the cricketer from Natore first clean bowled Tinashe Panyangara in the final delivery of his sixth over. And in the first two deliveries of his seventh over he trapped John Nyumbu in front before again shattering the stumps to dismiss Tendai Chatara.
A humble Taijul though admitted after the game that he did not ponder taking a hattrick while coming on to bowl as his sole objective was to account for as many dot balls as possible.
“I did not think about it from the beginning. I just wanted them (Zimbabwe) to play dot balls. It happened by the grace of the Almighty Allah,” said Taijul before adding, “Mushfiqur [Rahim] bhai kept telling me to bowl at the stumps. That is what I focused upon doing. I was unaware of the record. The senior players later told me about it.”
The year 2014 was turning out to be an annus horribilis for the Tigers prior to the bilateral series against Zimbabwe. Although the series sweep in Tests and ODIs will not make it an annus mirabilis either, it will still give the Tigers some much needed confidence heading into the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia-New Zealand.
And Taijul, as one of the match-turners of the side, will surely have something to say next year Down Under. If his recent achievements are anything to go by, the Tigers need not worry, at least in the spin department going into the global showpiece event.
