Birthday special: Mustafizur Rahman – Top three spells of Bangladeshi pacer
Mustafizur Rahman is one of the most important cogs of the Bangladesh side, especially in limited-overs cricket. The left-arm pace bowler is a man who has a plethora of variations up his sleeve and can bamboozle the batsmen with changes in pace as well as length.
Rahman has played 14 Tests, 68 ODIs and 50 T20Is for the Bangladesh side. While he has prized out 30 batsmen in the whites, he has taken 127 wickets in the ODI format of the game. In T20I cricket, the left-arm seamer has taken 71 wickets. As Rahman turns 26 today, let us take a look at the top 3 spells of his career so far.
5/22 vs New Zealand (T20Is)
Mustafizur Rahman’s best spell in T20I cricket came on 26th March 2016 against the New Zealand side in the 2016 T20 World Cup. New Zealand batted first and scored 145/8 in their allotted 20 overs. And, the man who flummoxed the Kiwi willow wielders was Mustafizur Rahman.
Rahman scalped 5 wickets in the 4 overs that he bowled, and gave away 22 runs. Bangladesh produced a shoddy performance in reply and were bowled out for just 70 runs, as the Black Caps thrashed their opposition by 75 runs.
5/50 vs India (ODIs)
On 18th June 2015, Mustafizur Rahman played a key role in helping the Bangladesh outfit post a comfortable victory over the Indian side. Bangladesh batted first and posted a total of 307 on the board. In reply, it was Rahman who caused a lot of problems to the Indian willow wielders.
In the 9.2 overs that he bowled, Rahman prized out 5 Indian batsmen, giving away 50 runs as the Indian side was bowled out for a total of 228, and Bangladesh thrashed their opposition by 79 runs.
6/43 vs India (ODIs)
The best spell of Mustafizur Rahman’s career came on 21st June 2015 in Dhaka against India. India batted first and were bowled out for 200. And, Rahman sliced through the Indian batting lineup.
In a spell that was a combination of guile and control, Rahman picked up 6 wickets in his 10 overs and leaked 43 runs. Bangladesh cantered past the target with 6 wickets to spare and pummeled the Indian side. Rahman also won the Player of the Match award for his scintillating bowling performance.
