Mustafizur needs Fizz back
Sports Desk//
With the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia approaching at the end of the month, Bangladesh’s concerns in the pace-bowling department seem to have deepened, with a special focus on the most experienced of the lot: Mustafizur Rahman.
The left-arm seamer has been missing his ‘Fizz’ lately, evident again in the first game of the tri-nation series against Pakistan yesterday, and that is surely a headache for the team management.
The 27-year-old looked ordinary on a seaming Christchurch pitch, which behaved similarly to the pitches expected during the World Cup in Australia, and was unable to extract that extra pace and bounce, even compared to the other Bangladeshi seamers.
Mustafizur simply could not live up to his reputation, going wicketless and conceding 48 runs from his four overs, both in the Power play and death overs.
Although Bangladesh made a positive start with Taskin Ahmed conceding just one run off the first over after skipper Nurul Hasan Sohan opted to bowl, Mustafizur’s two overs in the Powerplay cost 19 runs. More importantly, it handed the momentum to Pakistan despite the bowlers at the other end managing to keep things tight.
We are disappointed. The wicket was good and the bowlers did well. We need to improve in a few areas though. Wickets in the middle while batting cost us. Liton [Das] and Yasir [Ali] batted well, but as I said, we need to improve there.
The left-arm pacer was wayward with his line and length from the start of the game, but Sohan had no alternative to the experience that Mustafizur offered in the death overs.
Unfortunately, the Fizz — known for lethal cutters and yorkers as well excelling at the crucial task of keeping runs in check at the death in the early stages of his career — was a shadow of his former self yesterday.
When Nurul handed the ball to the Fizz in the 17th over, the scenario remained unchanged. The left-arm seamer was guilty of bowling too wide or short, which allowed batters to go after him. He ended up conceding 16 runs from the over.
He also bowled the final over of the innings, giving away 13 runs, including a six and a four, as Pakistan posted a competitive 167 for five, which was ultimately enough for them to seal an easy win.
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