Records galore in Tamim's 158
Tamim also became the first batsman to score a 150+ knock in 2020.
Before the series against Zimbabwe kicked off, Tamim Iqbal had been under a lot of pressure. He had scored only 466 runs in 19 innings, averaging only a tad over 24 and with no hundreds. With that, add up extra criticism because of his low strike rate and the high percentage of dot balls.
And with a ton from Liton Das in the first match and Tamim scoring only 24 off 43 deliveries, the pressure was even more on Bangladesh's most successful batsman.
Bangladesh batting consultant Neil McKenzie though had complete trust on Tamim Iqbal and said that runs were just around the corner for the veteran batsman.
"Tamim knows what he needs to do. It is boiled down to the specifics. We will have a chat. We feel he needs to hit a couple more boundaries. I don't see it as batting too slow or too quick. We know how important he is for (setting up) the platform. He has that covered; we know what he can do. We know how many runs he has got. Runs are around the corner for a guy of his quality," the former Protea batsman said.
And Tamim took very little time to prove the South African's words to be true. He bludgeoned the Zimbabwean bowlers in the second ODI at Sylhet as he picked up his 12th hundred to help Bangladesh pile up a massive 322-8.
Not only did he help Bangladesh reach a humongous total, but Tamim also trod on a number of records as he picked up the highest ODI knock ever played by a Bangladeshi batsman.
His first achievement came when he upper-cut Donald Tiripano in the 27th over to move to 85. It meant that Tamim reached 7,000 runs in ODIs and also, as the first Bangladesh to do so. He achieved this milestone in 204 innings, fewer than batsmen like Adam Gilchrist, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Eoin Morgan, Herschelle Gibbs, Virender Sehwag, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Stephen Fleming, Sanath Jayasuriya and Steve Waugh.
His hundred was his 12th in ODIs and 22nd in international cricket, both numbers being the highest for Bangladesh. His 158 was the highest individual score for Bangladesh in ODIs as the previous record was also Tamim's 154 against Zimbabwe in 2009 at Bulawayo.
Tamim also achieved another milestone as he went past 1,500 fours in international cricket and this is another record which he holds to himself. Shakib Al Hasan is on the second position in this as he has 1,212 fours in international cricket.
Tamim also became the first batsman to score a 150+ knock in 2020. The previous highest this year was from Australian batsman Steve Smith who had scored 131 against India in January.
Tamim managed to shrug off his criticisms with a fantastic knock. He ended the innings on a strike rate of 116.17. And fans would hope his form would continue across all formats as Bangladesh are in dire need of their premier batsman performing.