Celebrating 100: Shakib Al Hasan's five best performances in T20Is

A career that started over 15 years ago in 2006 is still going strong as Shakib Al Hasan is set to complete 100 T20I appearances when Bangladesh take on Afghanistan in their first match of the 2022 Asia Cup.

The occasion is going to be made even more memorable by the fact that Shakib is set to begin his fresh stint as the new Bangladesh T20I captain with their first game of the tournament.

To celebrate the momentous milestone of Shakib's career, we take a look back at some of the best performances of his T20I career.

4/34 and 13 (9) v West Indies, T20 World Cup (2007)

Playing in just the second T20I of his career, Shakib Al Hasan gave a glimpse of what he is capable of when he made a match-winning contribution in Bangladesh's maiden appearance at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2007.

He didn't start brightly with the ball, giving away 20 runs in his first two overs. However, skipper Mohammad Ashraful entrusted his last two overs in the death and Shakib repaid the faith by halting West Indies' ascendency.

He claimed the wicket of Dinesh Ramdin in the 18th over while only giving away just five runs. He then returned to bowl the final over of the innings and picked up three wickets, including that of captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo and Dwayne Smith. In his final two overs, the left-arm spinner gave away only 14 runs while accounting for four important wickets.

He chipped in with the bat as well, scoring 13 off nine balls as Bangladesh stunned West Indies by six wickets and two overs to spare.

46 (37) and 4/9 v PNG, T20 World Cup (2021)

From the first-ever World Cup to the last, Shakib Al Hasan has been one of the constants in Bangladesh's squad and has been a consistent performer on the world stage. In the 2021 T20 World Cup, PNG were at the receiving end of yet another all-round performance from Shakib.

Batting first, Shakib was the second highest scorer for Bangladesh, missing out on a well-deserved half-century by just four runs. His innings that was studded with three sixes helped propel Bangladesh to a solid total of 181.

With the ball in hand, the left-armer got the big wicket of Charles Amini in his very first over and followed it up with Simon Atai three balls later. He kept the batters quiet in the subsequent overs and was rewarded with the wickets of Sese Bau and Hiri Hiri as he finished with figures of 4/9 in the match.

84 (54) and 0/23 v Pakistan, T20 World Cup (2012)

Shakib Al Hasan was the lone warrior for Bangladesh with the bat when they faced Pakistan in a group stage clash at Pallekele. The innings of 84 still remains his highest score in T20Is to date but unfortunately wasn't enough to get Bangladesh the win on the day.

Coming in to bat at the fall of the first wicket, Shakib made his intentions very clear by smashing Sohail Tanvir for three consecutive boundaries in the final over of the Powerplay. The onslaught didn't stop even after the fielding restrictions were lifted as he reached his fifty off just 33 balls in style with a six.

With wickets falling at regular intervals, Shakib had to curb his game but went for it in the death overs, welcoming Umar Gul back into the attack with three fours in the 17th over. Shakib eventually fell for 84 on a day where the next highest scorer for Bangladesh was Mushfiqur Rahim with 25.

He did the job with the ball in hand as well. Despite going wicketless, he gave away less than run-a-ball in his four overs but that wasn't enough to stop Pakistan from winning the match.

70* (45) and 1/24 v Afghanistan, Chattogram (2019)

Shakib Al Hasan was once against Bangladesh's saviour with the bat when they were chasing against Afghanistan in the final league game of the tri-series that also involved Zimbabwe.

Chasing only 139 for the win, The Tigers were in early trouble at 12/2 before Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim stitched a 58-run stand. The star all-rounder assumed the role of the aggressor to keep Bangladesh's chase on track as Rahim struggled to get going.

Rahim's wicket triggered a mini-collapse as Bangladesh, who at one point were cruising at 70/2, suddenly found themselves at 104/6. At this point, Bangladesh needed 35 to win from 25 balls of which Rashid Khan, Afghanistan's star spinner, still had two overs remaining.

Afghanistan decided to preserve the wrist spinner to bowl the last over and decided to bowl him in the 18th. Shakib, instead of playing Rashid out, smashed him for a four and a six off consecutive balls to deliver the body blow to Afghanistan.

He saw Bangladesh home with an over to spare and remained unbeaten on 70 as the Tigers registered their first win over Afghanistan in five years.

42* (26) and 5/20 v West Indies, Mirpur (2018)

Shakib Al Hasan displayed his all-round supremacy when Bangladesh took on West Indies in Mirpur.

The platform was set for the southpaw when he walked in to bat in the 12th over. He was 10 off 8 balls at one point before he took the attack to the Windies bowlers – first smashing a four and a six against Carlos Brathwaite before accumulating three boundaries in the over against Keemo Paul. Together with Mahmud Ullah, he added 91 runs in the last seven overs to take Bangladesh to 211/4.

Now with the ball in hand, he broke the back of the West Indies chase, first with the big wicket of Nicholas Pooran in the Powerplay. He then dealt the visitors with a double-blow in the 11th over by scalping Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo.

He then got the big fish, the captain Carlos Brathwaite, to diminish any hopes that West Indies had left. He rattled the stumps of Fabian Allen in the final over to complete his maiden five-for in T20I cricket. West Indies fell short by 36 runs as Shakib and co. forced the series into a decider.