Taskin Ahmed had his most successful outing in a Tweny20 international on Monday. Taskin claimed 4-25, which helped Bangladesh bowl out the Netherlands for 135 and win their opening match of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2022 at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart.
Bangladesh was in the backfoot at the halfway stage of the game, after posting a modest total of 144-8.
The odds were stacked against the Tigers as Bangladesh had never successfully defended a total lower than 153 in an ICC T20 World Cup match.
Bangladesh needed early wickets if they were to defend the total. Taskin did exactly that by claiming the wickets of Vikramjit Singh and Bas de Leede in the first two balls of the innings.
Taskin’s impact in the match didn’t end there as the right-arm pacer also removed the dangerous Colin Ackermann, who had made 62 off 48 balls, and ensured the Tigers would go over the line.
After the match, Taskin revealed that bowling a ‘Test match length’ was the reason behind his success against the Netherlands.
“I was just sticking to the basics. I saw in the first innings that the ball was moving around and there was some carry. So I just tried to hit the Test match length. I just tried to shape the ball and it worked,” Taskin said after receiving the player of the match award.
Bangladesh came into the tournament on the back of four consecutive losses in a tri-nation series in New Zealand.
The Tigers needed a win to snap out of the poor form, which Taskin acknowledged after the game.
“Definitely, it’s a good win for us. We needed this. As a team, we all played really well. Alhamdulillah, I executed my plans as well. I am happy that I contributed to this win.”
Taskin’s career has been on an upward trajectory in 2022. Earlier this year, Taskin was the player of the series in Bangladesh’s landmark One-Day International series win in South Africa.
The 27-year-old doesn’t want to stop here as his sights are set on becoming a world class pacer.
“My wrist position is getting better than before. Now I get bit of movement both ways. I’m just focusing on making improvements. I want to be a world class pacer. That’s the main goal.”