Flashback: The only cricketers with 5 wickets and a fifty in a World Cup match
Over the years, a handful of players have succeeded in creating an everlasting impression with either the bat or ball in World Cups, which is the pinnacle of all cricketing events. Surprisingly, there are only a couple of them who have gone on to shine with their all-round performances in the showpiece event and they are Yuvraj Singh and Shakib Al Hasan respectively.
While Yuvraj played a key role in India’s World Cup triumph in 2011, Shakib showcased his all-round brilliance in the 2019 edition in the UK. Meanwhile, both also hold a unique record of picking a fifer as well as scoring a half-century in a World Cup encounter.
Yuvraj Singh and Shakib Al Hasan’s all-round brilliance in a World Cup game
Yuvraj Singh mattered the most in the 2011 World Cup as he stood up consistently with both bat and ball and played an integral role in ending India’s 28-year wait for a World Cup. He was adjudged the Player of the Tournament for scoring 362 runs and registering 15 scalps to his name that also saw him bag four Man of the Match awards. However, Yuvraj overcame many personal battles that saw him cough and vomit blood en route to fulfilling the ultimate dream.
In the same tournament, the southpaw also bagged a fifer and a half-century in the same game which happened to be against Ireland in a group fixture where the Punjab cricketer emerged as India’s match-winner with figures of 5/31 and also saved a batting collapse with an unbeaten 50 to help the Men in Blue register a five wicket win with exactly four overs to spare.
Shakib Al Hasan has been a crucial part of Bangladesh for one-and-a-half decade. However, it was during the 2019 World Cup that he reached the pinnacle of success as far as individual performances in a major global tournament is concerned.
While there was no fairytale ending for the veteran Bangladesh all-rounder nor was he adjudged the Player of the Tournament, his complete performances with the bat and ball saw him finish with 606 runs and 11 wickets in eight matches.
More importantly, during a league game against Asian rivals Afghanistan, he became only the second cricketer after Yuvraj to score a half-century and register a fifer in the very same match in World Cup history. Shakib scored 51 and did the bulk of damage with the ball in hand finishing with match-winning figures of 5/19 as Bangladesh decimated the Afghans by 62 runs.
