JOIN USHad star all-rounder Shakib al Hasan not played that fateful shot, Bangladesh could have left Virat Kohli and the Indian bowlers with plenty of thinking to do. Living by the sword and dying by it, Shakib, after having dominated ace spinner R Ashwin completely, perished for a counter-attacking 82 when calmness would have proved beneficial to the team.
The maverick all-rounder, however, begged to differ, saying the attacking approach is what got him those runs and curbing it would have done neither him nor team any good. “If you look at my innings, throughout I was playing shots. But that one (which I got dismissed), I didn’t connect well and that’s all I can say. But other than that I think it was very positive the way I was batting. I didn’t want to change my innings. I was playing the way I have been playing for the last 5-6 years.
“Actually, I don’t think about so many things when I go to bat. If I wouldn’t have been out I would have scored a hundred and it would have been good if I could have batted for a longer period for my team. When I bat I don’t think about all these things (scoring centuries). I keep batting. I like to play shots. Sometimes I am successful, sometimes I am not. I don’t really think much about it because this is my natural game and I like to play this way,” Shakib said.