The star all-rounder was denied a wicket due to a fielding lapse.
After an impressive bowling display in the previous match, Shakib Al Hasan once again caught the eye. The left-arm spinning all-rounder conceded just five runs per over, but a fielding error meant the MI Emirates star walked away without a wicket.
In the ILT20 on Tuesday, Shakib bowled two overs against Gulf Giants. Despite conceding a six, he gave away only 10 runs overall. Remarkably, seven of his 12 deliveries were dot balls.
Breaking free from a lean patch, Shakib had delivered a superb all-round performance against Desert Vipers last Sunday, picking up two wickets for just 14 runs in four overs. He then scored 17 runs with the bat to guide his team to victory, earning the Player of the Match award.
At the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Emirates won the toss and opted to field, introducing Shakib into the attack in the very first over. After bowling two dot balls, Rahmanullah Gurbaz launched the third delivery over midwicket for six. Only two more runs came off the final three balls of the over.
Shakib returned to bowl after the powerplay and could have struck immediately. However, Mohammad Waseem dropped a straightforward catch at deep midwicket, denying him a wicket. Despite the miss, Shakib maintained control and conceded just two runs in that over.
Given a reprieve on five runs, Moeen Ali went on to anchor the Giants’ innings. The English spinning all-rounder was dismissed in the final over after scoring 51 off 48 balls, including two sixes and two fours.
Thanks largely to Moeen’s half-century, Gulf Giants posted 141 for six. Tight bowling from Shakib and his teammates ensured no other Giants batter managed to cross the 30-run mark.
For MI Emirates, Romario Shepherd and Fazalhaq Farooqi picked up two wickets each, while Zahoor Khan and Arafat Gul claimed one apiece.
