Mustafizur eclipses Shakib as top T20 wicket-taker for Bangladesh

Bangladesh pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman became the top wicket-taker for Bangladesh in T20 International cricket after claiming one for 33 in four overs against India in a crucial Asia Cup Super-Fours contest on Wednesday night at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Having snared the one wicket he took 150 wickets in 118 matches, going past Shakib Al Hasan's 149 wickets in 129 matches. In doing so, he also became the first Bangladeshi bowler to have grabbed 150 wickets in T20 International cricket. The feat was inevitable after Mustafizur leveled Shakib by claiming three wickets for just 19 runs against Sri Lanka in Bangladesh's five-wicket victory in the previous match.

Two of his three wickets came in the penultimate over, in which he conceded just four runs to stall Sri Lanka's aggressive progress. Against India, he also did a good job by applying pressure toward the end after India made a high-flying start thanks to Avishek Sharma. He claimed the wicket of Indian captain Suriyakumar Yadav to ensure that India wouldn't capitalize on Avishek's marauding start and it exactly became so. Despite getting 80 runs in the first six overs, India managed to score just 168-6 at the end of the innings, giving Bangladesh a golden chance to win the game. But Bangladesh batter put up a reckless batting show to ruin bowlers' hard work as they suffered a 41-run defeat to India in their Asia Cup Super Fours contest at Dubai.

 A victory in the game would have helped them make a giant stride toward the final. But the defeat turned their game against Pakistan a must-win clash on Thursday. Earlier, pacer Mustafizur Rahman has made a notable leap of six-place to break into the top 10 in the latest ICC Men's T20I Rankings. After a temporary dip in form, which saw him lose four ranking positions last week, Bangladesh's seasoned T20I pacer Mustafizur Rahman is back in top 10 courtesy a six-place jump. The left-arm pacer has nabbed six wickets at an average of eight in his  last two outings in the tournament. He now sits in the ninth position with 660 rating points.


Earlier, Liton Das displaced Shakib Al Hasan as the top run-getter for Bangladesh in the T20 Internationals after scoring a crucial 23 runs against Sri Lanka in his side's Asia Cup Super-Fours opening game at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Liton, the captain of Bangladesh team, went into the match with 19 runs needing to unseat Shakib from the top spot. He did the job without any fuss but failed to convert the start to a big knock.