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Taskin Ahmed etched his name into the record books with a seven-wicket haul as his side Durbar Rajshahi cruised to a seven-wicket victory over Dhaka Capitals in the Bangladesh Premier League tie at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Thursday.

Taskin registered the third-best bowling figures in T20 history. His incredible spell, which included three wickets in the final over, broke Mohammad Amir’s BPL record of 6-17 set in 2020.

The right-arm pacer also became the third bowler – after Malaysia’s Syazrul Idrus and Netherlands’ Colin Ackermann – to pick seven wickets in a T20 game.

After Taskin’s 7-19, Dhaka managed to post 174-9, then Rajshahi comfortably chased the target, finishing at 179-3 with 11 balls to spare, thanks to unbeaten fifties from captain Anamul Haque (73* off 46) and Ryan Burl (55* off 33). 

This was Rajshahi’s first win in two matches while Dhaka lost both their encounters.

Taskin was proud after breaking the record. While talking to the reporters after the match, he said ‘Five-for is always special in any format.’ 

‘It’s a big achievement. As a boy from Bangladesh, my name will be there in BPL even after I retire. It’s a proud moment for me.’ 

Taskin put pressure early on Dhaka as he dismissed openers Liton Das—which he later described as his favorite of the day—and Tanzid Hasan in his first two overs. 

Dhaka then recovered well by virtue of a 47-ball 79-run partnership between Stephen Eskinazi (46 off 29) and Shahadat Hossain (50 off 41). 

Despite the Eskinazi-Shahadat stand stabilising Dhaka, Hasan Murad broke through to trigger a collapse, paving the way for Taskin’s heroics.

He missed the hat-trick in the last over despite getting Alauddin Babu— his fifth—and Mukidul Islam in consecutive deliveries but took three in the over. 

‘It couldn’t have happened unless I had imagined it (laughs). To get wickets you need the favor of luck. Alhamdulillah, I’m executing well. The important thing is to bowl well the number of wickets can fluctuate,’ said Taskin.

Taskin dedicated his performance to his son, Tasfin.

‘Whenever I bowl well, my father and my son become happy. Their support is an inspiration for me. The thing is, when I can’t bowl well, Tasfin (Taskin’s son) becomes sad. I’m sure he’s very happy now. It’s for him.’ 

Rajshahi, though, faced some early jitters as they lost two wickets inside the powerplay after the contrasting innings of Mohammad Haris (12 off 5) and Jishan Alam (0 off 8), second consecutive duck.

But Anamul, who has now hit consecutive fifties in the first two matches, along with Burl, took Rajshahi home after Yasir Ali’s (22) stay was cut short by Alauddin Babu in the 10th over. Anamul and Burl then ensured there were no further hiccups.