Dubai: Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh opener who scored back-to-back centuries to sink Pakistan in the ongoing one-day series, has finally done justice to his enormous natural talent.
It is Iqbal’s form that guided Bangladesh to their maiden one-day series win over Pakistan on Sunday. He became the third Bangladesh batsman to score two successive centuries after Shahriar Nafees and Mohammad Mahmudullah, when he hit 132 in the first match and followed it up with an unbeaten 116 to seal a series win in the three-match affair.
If inconsistency had been his biggest enemy over the years, the other failing had been his poor shot selection in a bid to entertain his fans with his adventurous style of batting. Iqbal’s enthusiasm to entertain his fans with his aggressive strokes has resulted in him getting out early. but Iqbal refused to curb his natural approach.
When in form, there is no stopping him. In 2012, he went on a scoring spree hitting five successive half-centuries in one-dayers. Even in Test matches, he once displayed his ability to score a string of big knocks cracking five half-centuries in six Test innings - culminating in a brilliant 102 at Lord’s in 2010.
Many have wondered about his sudden slip into a string of poor scores, some blaming his style of batting. The ease with which he plays his strokes when in form reveals the mastery of his skills. His inability to resist the temptation to get carried away has often destroyed the brilliance in him.
Iqbal deserves a place among the most elegant left-handers in the game - his off-side strokes being a treat to watch while his best stroke has always been the straight drive. The way he uses the pace of a bowler gives the feeling the faster you bowl at him, the quicker he dispatches it to the boundary.
Iqbal also loves challenges that brings out the best out in him. There is a famous incident involving him and former England batsman and commentator Geoff Boycott during the 2010 Bangladesh tour of England, when the former England commentator had sarcastically remarked that Bangladesh did not deserve Test status. After cracking a century against England at Old Trafford, Iqbal made a famous statement: “We (Bangladesh) are improving and we are better than we were five years ago. If you start a chocolate company, you can’t compete with Cadbury in the first 10 years because they are a big company.”
Iqbal is also a brilliant fielder. Who can forget his catch of Chris Gayle in the Mirpur Twenty20 World Cup at long off boundary, lobbing the ball back from the ropes to complete the catch or that of Dwayne Bravo by soaring to his right at third-man like a bird? Watch this space for more on this talent!
