T20 World Cup 2022: Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed won the Player of the Match award after he picked up a four-wicket haul against the Netherlands on Monday.

They need a bit of luck: Taskin on missing out on taking hat-trick vs NED in T20 WC. Courtesy: Reuters

By India Today Web Desk: Fast bowler Taskin Ahmed said that he hoped to take a hat-trick in Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 match against the Netherlands on Monday, October 24. At the Bellerive Oval in Hobart, Taskin became the Player of the Match after the Tigers secured a crucial nine-wicket victory in the multi-nation mega event.

Taskin dismissed Vikramjit Singh and Bas de Leede off consecutive deliveries in the first two balls of the Dutch team’s run-chase. The young speedster finished with figures of 4-0-25-0 and helped Bangladesh defend 144.

“I did expect it [hat-trick], but I bowled the delivery in the same process. Hat-trick and five-wicket hauls need a bit of luck,” Taskin was quoted as saying in the post-match press conference.

Apart from Taskin, Hasan Mahmud and Mustafizur Rahman also played their roles with precision. While Mahmud got the wickets of Tim Pringle and Logan van Beek and bowled at an economy rate of 3.75, Mustafizur Rahman finished with figures of 4-0-20-3.

Taskin mentioned that hitting the hard lengths on a consistent basis helped the Bangladesh fast bowlers to a large extent.

“Length balls, back-of-length balls on a hard length and bouncers were working on today’s wicket. Length ball was probably the most effective. Hasan (Mahmud) and I tried a few yorkers, but we were strict on the length ball as we were getting a bit of bounce off it,” he stated.

“I stuck to the normal mindset. I got the ball to move off a length in the first two balls, so I tried the same for the third ball. I wasn’t trying to be too greedy, lest I got hit for a four. I tried to be disciplined,” Taskin added.

Bangladesh’s next match is against Temba Bavuma’s South Africa on Thursday, October 27 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.