Fizz finds the perfect mix

There are lots of reasons to be frustrated with Mustafizur Rahman, and yesterday he gave Bangladesh fans a compelling one after a long time. Since bowling Bangladesh to series wins over India in his debut series and over South Africa in his second rubber in 2015, expectations have been sky high of the man dubbed the Fizz. Although he was Bangladesh’s joint-highest wicket-taker in the World Cup before yesterday’s match against India in Birmingham, there was constant frustration that he did not bowl consistently enough and that he conceded far too many runs.

It may be yet another false dawn, but Mustafizur showed yesterday that it was not just his famed cutters, but accuracy allied with a sharp bowling brain that got him wickets. It was the failure of the accuracy that had thwarted Mustafizur thus far, but he rediscovered the combination in just the right time for the Tigers. India were well on their way to a score of above 350, poised as they were on 237 for two in the 39th over with batting maestro Virat Kohli at the crease. Knowing well that Kohli would be looking to accelerate, he bowled him a well-directed bouncer that Kohli hooked straight down the throat of Rubel Hossain at deep square leg. The dangerous Hardik Pandya came in. He angled two deliveries away from the right-hander and Pandya poked at the second one, which was wider than the first, and edged low to Soumya at a wide slip. Two balls later Mustafizur had completed a double-wicket maiden, which was worth its weight in platinum for Bangladesh at that stage.

Mustafizur is one of the few Bangladesh pacers who use the short ball effectively. While on some occasions a failure of execution that has been haunting him since a shoulder surgery in late 2016 has caused for the surprise weapons to be wasted, they found their mark yesterday.

Throughout the 46th over he was bowling angled, length deliveries to Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik, but the first delivery he bowled to Karthik in the 48th over was a slower bouncer. Karthik was already on the front foot and could not adjust to the change in length as well as pace and spooned a catch to Mosaddek Hossain at midwicket.

His fourth wicket, that of Dhoni, showcased his shrewdness, especially as he outthought one of the most cunning cricketers to play the game. Dhoni decided to farm the strike in the last over, the plan obviously to bludgeon Mustafizur to the leg side for sixes and fours. Mustafizur bowled two deliveries full and outside off stump, to which Dhoni could not find a boundary and, to his detriment, refused a signal each time. This time it was a quick bouncer outside off stump and Dhoni, set on hitting to the leg side, top-edged to mid on. Bowling Mohammad Shami for his fifth wicket, off the last ball of the innings, was just reward for one of the rare times since the early days that Mustafizur’s keen bowling intellect found an able ally in execution.