Have to bring our A-game against Australia: Shakib al Hasan

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Taunton: Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan, who played a brilliant knock to guide his team to a record win against West Indies, has called on his teammates not to get complacent and bring out their A-game in their next World Cup fixture against Australia.

On Monday, Hasan proved why he is the number one all-rounder and scored a blistering ton (124*) to help Bangladesh chase down the target of 322 with ease. The left-handed batsman shared a crucial third wicket partnership of 189* with Liton Das (94*) and made sure the Bangla Tigers remain in contention for the semi-finals.

“It feels great. To stay at the wicket till the end was the most satisfying thing. I have been working on batting for the last one and a half months, and it has paid off,” Shakib said at the post-match presentation ceremony. He admitted that West Indies batsmen had posted a reasonable total. “At the end of the first innings, we believed that if we bat well we can win. It was a reasonable total posted by the West Indies.”

He also went on to add that him batting at the number three spot earned him more opportunities and more time in the middle. During the Windies match, Shakib overtook Australia’s captain Aaron Finch to become the leading run-getter of the tournament. He has scored 384 runs in five matches. “It was a reasonable total posted by the West Indies. Not sure why I backed myself for the number three spot, but I thought if I batted at three, I will get more opportunities and more time in the middle.”

With five points from five games, and despite placed fifth in the score table Bangladesh would be brimming with confidence when they take Australia on Thursday at Trent Bridge. Australia are currently at the top of the points table with eight points from five game. “We have to bring our A-game against Australia at the top of their form,” he insisted. Out of the 22 ODIs that both the teams have played against each other, Bangladesh have won just one game in Cardiff in 2005 and two matches have yielded no result.