Shakib Al Hasan impresses with four-for on Surrey debut

Shakib Al Hasan was roped in to play for Surrey in the ongoing County Championship Division One fixture against Somerset. The Bangladeshi all-rounder impressed on his debut as he bagged four wickets at The Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton.

Surrey got off to a solid start on Day 1 as Kemar Roach dismissed Lewis Goldsworthy in the first over. Tom Banton played a stunning knock of 132 off 172 balls and the likes of Archie Vaughan, Tom Abell, and James Rew couldn't capitalize on their starts. Somerset were eventually dismissed for 317 in the first innings after Lewis Gregory won the toss and opted to bat first.

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With the ball, Shakib played a key role for Surrey as he finished with figures of 4/97. He bowled 33.5 overs in the innings, way more than his fellow members. The 37-year-old picked up the wickets of Abell, Kasey Aldridge, Craig Overton, and Brett Randell during his herculean effort with the ball.

With the bat, Surrey got to 169/3 at the end of play on Day 2. They are still trailing by 148 runs. Shakib has yet to bat in this inning, where Ryan Patel and Ben Greddes scored half-centuries. Surrey are missing eight players due to national commitments. In the national team, Ollie Pope, Jamie Smith, Dan Lawrence, and Gus Atkinson found spots in the squad against Sri Lanka. It was important for the experienced Shakib to rise to the occasion and he proved his mettle once again. The Magura-born added to his 342 wickets in first-class cricket.

Somerset is set to collide with Surrey in the T20 Blast semi-finals at Edgbaston, Trent Bridge on Saturday, August 14. An outright win for Rory Burns' side will give Surrey a huge advantage heading into the knockout fixture.

In the County Championship, Surrey are leading the points table with seven wins and one defeat from 11 matches. Meanwhile, Somerset are second, having won four and lost one out of their 11 encounters.