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New Zealand's Kane Williamson, Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan and UAE's Asif Khan have been nominated for the ICC Men's Player of the Month award for March 2023, announced the global governing body of the sport on Thursday.
After enduring a bit of a lean phase in Test cricket over the last 24 months, Williamson is well and truly back to doing what he does best for New Zealand - batting long and winning matches of cricket for his country. In the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, Williamson recorded a hundred and double-hundred in the three innings he played. The century came in the first Test when New Zealand needed 285 runs to win in the final innings. On a rain-truncated fifth day, New Zealand required 257 runs from just 52 overs. The equation was down to the Kiwis needing 55 from the last nine overs with seven wickets in hand when a slew of wickets fell. Williamson showed immaculate composure even as they needed eight off the final over. With five needed from three balls, Williamson struck a four to tie the scores. With the match going into the final delivery, Williamson scampered for a bye and completed a dive to win it for New Zealand in the most dramatic of fashion. He scored an unbeaten 121 in the final innings. In the next Test, the 32-year-old smashed his sixth double ton, equalling Marvan Atapattu, Virender Sehwag, Javed Miandad, Younis Khan, Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar in the list of most double hundreds in Test cricket. In a marathon knock that lasted more the six hours, Williamson's 215 helped New Zealand put on 580/4d. The hosts did not have to bat again as the bowlers ensured an emphatic victory by an innings and 58 runs despite a second-innings fightback by Sri Lanka. With 337 runs in two games at an average of 168.50 with two centuries, Kane Williamson was the standout choice for the 'Player of the Series' award. Bangladesh has become a force to be reckoned with at home and a lot of it has been down to the all-round exploits of experienced all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan. Shakib was one of the few bright spots for Bangladesh in the three-match ODI series against England, finishing both as the highest run-scorer and wicket-taker for the Tigers, scoring 141 runs in three matches with two fifties. He also took six wickets in the series. In Bangladesh's only win of the series, Shakib starred with a 71-ball 75 and followed it up with a four-for to take home the Player of the Match in the hosts' 50-run win. His form carried over to the T20I series, where Bangladesh recorded a historic 3-0 whitewash over the Men's T20 World Champions. Shakib picked up a wicket in each of the three T20Is while finishing the game for his side in the opening match with an unbeaten 24-ball 34. Shakib was at the top of his game when Ireland came visiting, scoring a match-winning 93 in the first ODI. Later in the second T20I of the series, the 36-year-old smashed a 24-ball 38* and then went to pick up five wickets inside the Powerplay in dominating all-round display. In the 12 games played in March, Shakib scored 353 runs and scalped 15 wickets. Asif Khan was in brutal hitting form during the final phase of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 and played a key role in keeping UAE in the hunt for a direct Qualifier spot until the very last game. In UAE's final three games at home, Asif notched up two fifties, both of which came against Nepal. After a quiet start to the series in Nepal, Asif exploded with a 42-ball 101* that was laced with four boundaries and 11 maximums. Asif Khan smashed the fourth-fastest hundred in men's ODIs against Nepal in ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 match. The hundred grabbed headlines around the world, which was the fastest by an Associate Nation player in ODI cricket history. Despite his incredible feat, he ended up on the losing side as Nepal won by seven runs (by DLS method) in dramatic fashion. His form carried over to the Qualifier Play-off where he smashed yet another ton, this time of 84 balls against the USA. (ANI)
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