Mushfiqur Rahim, a stalwart batsman for Bangladesh, celebrated his 36th birthday by scoring 61 runs, which led the team and helped the Tigers escape a difficult scenario in the opening one-day international of the series against Ireland in Chelmsford yesterday. Mushfiqur looks to be enjoying his new role as the number six batsman in the batting order, which was adopted during the previous one-day international series played at home against the Irish.
Bangladesh was able to register a score of 246 for nine as a direct result of his half-century. In their reply, Ireland reached 65 for three after 16.3 overs before the game was unexpectedly called off due to rain. The subsequent no result meant that South Africa won a straight qualifying slot in this year’s ODI World Cup. In order to overtake the Proteas in ninth position, Ireland needed to win all three matches of the series that they were competing in against South Africa.
The poor performance of Bangladesh’s hitters in the first one-day international match against Ireland, which took place yesterday in Chelmsford, was highlighted by a tough half-century scored by the veteran Mushfiqur Rahim. Despite this, Bangladesh was able to score 246 for nine in their allotted 50 overs.
After being called to bat in cloudy circumstances by the captain of Ireland, Andy Balbirnie, Tamim Iqbal and the rest of the team were faced with a challenging assignment.
After an early batting collapse that saw the Tigers lose openers Tamim and Liton Das inside of four overs, Mushfiqur, who turned 36 yesterday, was the only Bangladeshi to hit 50 in the innings.
Shakib Al Hasan paid the price for trying to play too aggressively and only managed to score 21 runs. Najmul Hossain Shanto gave a glimmer of his outstanding recent form but was removed after scoring 44 runs. Najmul Hossain Shanto scored 44 runs.
The visitors were in a difficult position after losing half of their side for 122 in the 27th over, but they were able to pull themselves out of it thanks to Mushfiqur’s 61 off of 70 balls, which included six fours. This allowed them to post a total that was competitive.
Although Mushfiqur was also fortunate to be dropped early in the innings when he was on 19, the right-hander batted till the 45th over, which insured that the Tigers would produce something that was at least somewhat competitive.
Later on in Bangladesh’s innings, Mushfiqur contributed to an important partnership with the No. 7 batsman, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, that resulted in 65 runs and gave Bangladesh momentum. Miraz, on the other hand, was not able to accumulate a large score and was caught after he had scored 27 runs off 34 balls with four boundaries.
Tamim discussed Mushfiqur’s batting position and the fact that the veteran would have to accept the challenge of batting at No. 6 instead of his customary location at No. 4 before to the start of the series. Mushfiqur’s regular slot is at No. 4.
He is currently batting sixth, but nothing is set in stone. It will depend on the circumstances of the match as to whether or not he bats at four or five. As there are still a couple more series to air, we will keep you updated. However, his position is now at number six for the time being,” Tamim stated to the media on Sunday.
It goes without saying that he is a very seasoned cricketer. Particularly in the format known as 50-over cricket, experience is of the utmost importance. More than 250 matches have been played on his behalf. He plays a very significant role in the success of the squad. When we informed him that he would be hitting sixth, his response was “okay.” It is really challenging if there is someone on the inside who does not want it. During the most recent series, we were able to see firsthand how well he performed.
Yesterday’s knock by Mushfiqur was illustrative of how the cricketer has been forced to adapt to new responsibilities. Previously, he was responsible for facing the new ball after early wickets; however, today he is expected to fulfill the role of a finisher and guide the innings to higher totals.
The crucial contributions made by Taijul Islam and Shoriful Islam later down the order finally assisted the visitors in posting a score that was close to the 250 mark. Following the cancellation of the visitors’ one and only practice match for the series due to rain, they had a difficult time adjusting to the circumstances.