The video of the hattrick always cheers me up: Taskin
In the final episode of The Business Standard’s hattrick-hero series, we bring you the story of Taskin Ahmed who picked up a hattrick against Sri Lanka in 2017.
Sri Lanka had already gone past 300 runs. Taskin Ahmed came into the attack to bowl the 50th over. He went for five runs off the first two deliveries. But what he did in the next three deliveries became part of history.
Taskin sent back Asela Gunaratne in the third delivery of the 50th over. He bowled a full toss in the next delivery and Suranga Lakmal hit that straight to Mustafizur Rahman at midwicket. The thought of picking up a hattrick peeked into the mind of the right-arm fast bowler.
Nuwan Pradeep was the last man in for Sri Lanka. Taskin decided to bowl the yorker, his proven weapon. The ball landed right into the blockhole and hit the timber. Taskin Ahmed became the fifth bowler in the history of Bangladesh cricket to pick up an ODI hattrick.
Bangladesh couldn't bear the fruit of the hattrick as rain interrupted the match and it was called off after the first innings.
In the final episode of The Business Standard's hattrick-hero series, we bring you the story of Taskin Ahmed who picked up a hattrick against Sri Lanka in 2017.
In Taskin's words...
A hattrick is always a hattrick, a different feeling altogether. Every bowler has the dream of picking up a hattrick and a five-wicket haul. I am no different. I was on a hattrick quite a few times earlier, but it didn't come off.
After getting two in two that day, the inner self me was saying that this was the time to do it. I went for the yorker. It landed exactly where I wanted and the hattrick happened.
Everyone congratulated me after the hattrick. It would've been more special if I got the hattrick a little earlier. When I came to bowl the last over, Soumya (Sarkar) was telling me from midwicket, "Go for it. It may come off if the Almighty wants."
What I remember most is my run-up to the crease for the hattrick ball. It was the 50th over and no one told me what to do, what not to do. I just bowled to my own plan and things turned out really well.
I was a tad disappointed because we couldn't bat in the second innings. 300 was a par score on that ground and I felt we could've won the game.
I watch the video often. Sometimes I watch this video and the video of the World Cup match against England to cheer myself up. I really feel proud of that achievement. It doesn't matter who the opponents were or when I achieved it. It's a record which cannot be erased.
I was very confident after I had dismissed Gunaratne and Lakmal. I was on top of my game and trusted my ability to go for my strongest weapon.
I want to pick up more hattricks in future. I did that three years back. It's quite a long time ago.
A hattrick or a five-wicket haul gives you immense pleasure no matter who the opponents are. We work hard for these moments. And if you can do so in a crunch moment, it makes you happier.
I want to pick up a hattrick in the first spell.
This will definitely go down as one of my greatest performances in international cricket. I would have my debut right on top where I got five for 28 against India in 2014. The second one would be the spell of three for 47 against England in 2016 where I dismissed Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes. And the hattrick will follow that performance.