Mustafizur offers a glimpse of his return to his very best

 

Before the start of the game against Ireland, Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha stated that Chandika Hathurusingha was waiting to witness Mustafizur Rahman returns back to his top form.

 A left-arm pace-bowler showed enough promise in the past, and there was a debate as to whether he had reached his peak or not.

In the game on Sunday (May 14, 2014) in the match against Ireland there was ample evidence from the veteran player that he still has magic in his. He certainly appeared too hot for Irish batsmen after being rested for the first two matches against Ireland and that could have some connection to his current performance.

Mustafizur, who returned to the crease with a score of 4 wickets for 44, was deemed the best player of the match however, more importantly, appeared to be having fun while bowling even though he was under pressure, if not for anything else.

The hosts were chasing 274 and were enjoying themselves at 223 with 3 wickets less. Along with two great batters, Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker’s epic runs contributed to the last match. They needed around 51 runs on 54 balls only, and the skipper, Tamim Iqbal, asked Nazmul Hossain to ball in the 42nd over to get their opponent’s wickets as soon as possible. Nazmul Hossain eventually became the arm with the golden shine. However, Tector failed to make a half-century in the last game, in which he was trying to play his best shot on the speedy ball delivery.

Mustafizur who was the Stephen Doheny as his opener during his first spell looked like he was at his best for the last overs and then it was the Fizz performance from there onwards. The Bangladesh player has taken amazing wickets in the 50-over match, as he knocked out Curtis Campher, who contributed just a single run; next was George Dockrell with 3 runs; also, Stephen Doheny; and at last, Lorcan Tucker’s wicket, which helped Bangladesh dominate the game against Ireland in a 50-over match on Sunday.

Mustafizur demonstrated his death-bowling skill by getting rid of Campher and Dockrell Both of them being caught between mid-off and in the cover when he manipulated them with his variations, and then when he bowled Tucker his third wicket in consecutive overs for just fifty, it took the energy from the Ireland run chase.

After a while, Mustafizur seemed to be more alert and he attempted different strategies. He played with a decent pace, but more importantly, he attempted to change his angles every now and then, and, if needed, he walked around the wicket and then over the wicket.

The Irish did not manage to get his pace to change and in his last game, he tried bowling full lengths and Yorkers, something he never try very often in recent times.

“As per my knowledge, the three overs of Najmul and Mustafizur were a turning point for us,” says Tamim after the match finished.

"I am sure all the people sitting here (in the press conference room) that include me never thought that we can win this game at one point," he added.

Winning in the above-mentioned games is such a great thing for the entire Bangladesh team. We had a great possibility of losing the game against Ireland, but our bowlers found a way to dominate the game against them. The teamwork always shows up, and we are glad that we have great bowlers who bowled amazingly in today’s match. I believe in their work, as they just needed good confidential support from their seniors, and they played such a perfect game. It was not an easy task to chase 274, but the batsmen of our team have also managed to win the game in the last 10-over, he said.

Hasan Mahmud is known to be an aggressive bowler, and at that moment he showed up with his aggressive attitude towards taking massive wickets of his opponents’ teams. He is the youngest and most talented cricketer on our side, and I would like to see him bowl in the ODI series. You make your bowling perfect by practicing, and that’s the reason why you are the greatest cricketer on your respective team, the coach said.

Bangladesh finished their season at the ICC Super League at the third spot with a score of 155 points. Tamim is certainly confident heading into the world tournament alongside the likes of Hasan and co, however, the bowling line-up will be robust when they have Mustafizur returning to his previous form. He certainly displayed signs of the same.

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