Shakib returns to IPL in style

Bangladesh ace allrounder Shakib Al Hasan returned to Indian Premier League with a splendid performance for Kolkata Knight Riders in their match against Mumbai Indians on May 14, 2015.

After playing the first two matches against RCB and Mumbai Indians, Shakib came back from India as Pakistan toured Bangladesh for three ODIs, one T20 match and two Tests from April 17 to May 10 2015.

Shakib Al Hasan is an automatic choice for KKR for his all-round skills, especially on the Indian pitches favouring spinners. His inclusion into the side gave KKR greater batting depth and an effective spin option for captain Gautam Gambhir.

Shakib did not let his KKR captain down when he was given the ball during the 51st match of IPL against Mumbai Indians. The allrounder from Magura bowled four overs, picked up two wickets and gave away only 22 runs, by far the most economical bowler for the match.

Shakib sent back Mumbai Indians opener Parthiv Patel in his second over when the batsman ran down the track, failed to reach the pitch of the ball, and his mishit went straight down the throat of deep midwicket.

During the sixth over of the innings, Shakib got the scalp of Ambati Rayudu by beating the batsman with his guile. Shakib bowled it slower and wider seeing the batsman coming down the track. Ambati went through with his shot but sliced it to Andre Russell at wide long-off.

During KKR’s chase of 172, Shakib came out to bat in the 11th over after Gautam Gambhir returned to the pavilion. Facing Harbhajan Singh, Shakib immediately went on the attack and struck a lovely boundary to open his account.

Shakib was going well with Yusuf Pathan and looked settled at the crease but Vinay Kumar’s short ball ended his promising knock against the run of play.

Vinay Kumar’s delivery was too close for Shakib to pull and he only managed to top-edge his stroke to give Pandya running in from deep mid-wicket a simple catch.

Shakib scored 23 runs from 15 balls and struck three boundaries in his knock. It was unfortunate that Shakib’s wicket triggered a mini-collapse for KKR and they lost the match in the final over by 5 runs.

KKR’s next match before the play-offs is against Rajasthan Royals on May 16, 2015 at Mumbai. If Shakib performs well, KKR will go a long way to defend their title on May 24.