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Mohamad Isam in DHAKA, Bangladesh
ON the day Brendan Taylor played his final game for Zimbabwe on Monday, ESPNcricinfo picked five of his most memorable displays.

79 not out vs Bangladesh, 3rd ODI, Harare, 2006

Taylor was the only hope as he resurrected Zimbabwe chase of 237, and watched from the other end as Shahadat Hossain bagged a hat-trick that all but sent the home side out of the contest.

Taylor and Tawanda Mupariwa dragged Zimbabwe into the last over, but the senior batter wasn’t on strike when they needed 17, with three wickets in hand, and had an in-form Mashrafe Mortaza to contend with.

After Mupariwa got him back on strike, Taylor flicked a full-toss for the first six of the over, and found the square-leg boundary to leave him with five required off the last ball. Mashrafe bowled another full-toss, which Taylor shovelled over long-on for a huge six.

69 vs Australia, 2007 World

T20, Cape Town

After a spirited effort saw them restrict Ricky Ponting’s side to 138 for 9, Vusi Sibanda got Zimbabwe off to a roaring start, but when they wobbled at 70 for 4, in the 11th over, the 21-year-old Taylor batted like a pro.

He used the pace of Brett Lee and Stuart Clark to pick up fours through point, and smashed part-timer Brad Hodge for two straight sixes. Then, with 12 needed off the last over, he picked up a crucial early boundary with a clever sweep, behind square off Nathan Bracken, before getting Zimbabwe over the line with four leg byes.

75 vs New Zealand, 3rd ODI,

Bulawayo, 2011

Captain Taylor made consecutive centuries in lost causes in the first two ODIs of Zimbabwe’s 2011 series against New Zealand.

They faced 329 to win in the last game in Bulawayo, and lost Vusi Sibanda in the first over.

But the in-form Taylor counter-attacked straight away, hammering Nathan McCullum in the powerplay. It took a brilliant overhead catch from McCullum to send him back for a 65-ball 75 in the 18th over.

He had struck seven fours and two sixes in his knock, giving Zimbabwe the perfect start that Malcolm Waller, Tatenda Taibu and Elton Chigumbura later converted into their highest successful chase in ODIs.

171 and 102 not out vs Bangladesh, 1st Test, Harare, 2013

Taylor enjoyed batting against Bangladesh, his most frequent opponent, and his 171 and 102* against them in 2013 laid the base for one of Zimbabwe’s most dominant performances since their return to the Test arena in 2011.

Before him, no Zimbabwe batter had made hundreds in both innings of a Test match. In the first innings, he was the eighth batter dismissed after spending eight hours at the crease.

He helped Zimbabwe recover from early setbacks and a middle-order wobble, and helped them finish on 389.

After Bangladesh were shot out for 134, Taylor drove home the advantage with an unbeaten third-innings century at a strike rate of nearly 70.

In the end, Taylor was so dominant over his opposition that Bangladesh’s collective total of 281 over their two innings barely scraped past Taylor’s match total of 273.

138 vs India, 2015 World

Cup, Auckland

Taylor had already made a hundred in their previous match, a heartbreaking five-run loss to Ireland.

He walked into a familiar situation now at Eden Park, with India’s formidable attack having reduced Zimbabwe to 13 for 2, which soon became 33 for 3.

From there he came into his element, hitting 15 fours and fives sixes on his way to a superlative 110-ball 138, becoming the first (and to date only) Zimbabwean to score back-to-back World Cup hundreds, and the first to reach 400 runs in the tournament. — ESPNCricinfo