News
‘I have to do it every day’ – Shamim on balancing flair with the basics
Bangladesh do not often win T20Is in Sri Lanka by 83 runs, yet that is what happened on Sunday night in Dambulla. The margin owed plenty to Litton Das’ return to runs, but the man who grabbed most of the post-match chatter was Shamim Hossain – for what he did with bat, ball and, even more strikingly, in the field.
He began with a 27-ball 48, a burst that turned 101 for 4 into a competitive 177 for 7. Boundaries came early, the ball cleared the rope three times, and 76 runs arrived in the last six overs. On a ground where the par score under lights had hovered around 155, that felt above par rather than spectacular, which suited Bangladesh just fine.
“Whenever I go out to bat, my plan is to stay positive,” Shamim said. “Someone has to take risks, and I want to take that responsibility for the team. This was an important win for us.”
Litton’s 57 gave him Player-of-the-Match honours, yet most eyes stayed on Shamim when Sri Lanka began their chase. His part-time off-spin slid through its allotted overs without fuss, but the real moment came in the fifth over. Stationed at point, he pounced on a push from Avishka Fernando, collected cleanly, and – almost in the same motion – found the non-striker’s end with a flat throw. Kusal Mendis, perhaps assuming the direct hit would miss, had eased up. The zing bails lit, Kusal was short, and Bangladesh’s huddle surged.
“I think fielding is very important,” Shamim explained later. “I can’t say I’m overly happy [with the run-out] because it’s my job, something I have to do every day.”
That honesty might sting supporters who remember how rare such moments have been. Bangladesh had not executed a direct-hit run-out in men’s T20Is since Mehidy Hasan Miraz removed Jos Buttler more than two years back. Dropped catches and wayward shy-at-stumps attempts have long drawn groans; here, for once, they nailed both.
Sri Lanka never recovered from 27 for 3 and were bundled out for 94. Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed shared five wickets, backed by tidy spells from Rishad Hossain and Shoriful Islam. Shamim’s sliding catch at deep mid-wicket to remove Angelo Mathews underlined a night on which almost everything stuck.
Coach Chandika Hathurusingha has asked for ‘one percenters’; this display offered a template. Still, Shamim insisted the blueprint remains simple. “Sometimes, you have to slow things down a little,” he said, referring to the earlier 63-run stand between Litton and Towhid Hridoy that stabilised the innings. “At that point we needed a good partnership because we had strong batters to come later in the innings, and we can always catch up if we have wickets in hand.”
The series is 1-1, the decider set for Wednesday, and Bangladesh will not assume momentum guarantees anything. They have, however, seen what happens when power-hitting meets reliable fielding. Shamim’s challenge, by his own admission, is to make it everyday fare rather than an exception.
