Mushy and his reverse-sweep shot affair continues

Bangladesh went past 200 and Mushfiqur Rahim reached his fifty but the Tigers would be thoroughly disappointed with the dismissals of their two overnight batters on the morning session of the third day of the second Test in Gqeberha.

The Tigers are 210 for seven at lunch as the visitors trail by 243 runs.

Mushfiqur, right after reaching his 50 of 134 balls, departed by playing a needless reverse-sweep shot at the stroke of lunch to Simon Harmer, who grabbed his first wicket of innings.  

Around nine overs prior Mushfiqur's blatant unforced error, Yasir Ali was guilty of playing across a line to Keshav Maharaj, who was turning the ball sharply in the day. Yasir got out to a caught and bowl dismissal to end a 70-run stand between the overnight batters.

A dejected Yasir Rabbi walks back to the dressing room. Photo: AFP

Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam will resume the batting in the post-lunch session and the duo would be eyeing to score at least 44 runs to avoid the crucial follow-on.
 

Yasir's positive mindset pays dividends so far

Middle-order batter Yasir Ali Rabbi made his intentions clear as he began the day's proceedings with three fours on the trot after rain had briefly delayed second Test's third day's start of play in Gqeberha today.  

Fast bowler Lizaad Williams, bowling the first over of the day, was on the receiving end of Yasir's late square cuts, which yielded all three boundaries. Lizaad, having gone for a fair bit of beating yesterday, was struggling to get his length right, having pitched the ball on the shorter side mostly; and the moisture on the rain-affected field did not help Lizaad's cause either.

Yasir Rabbi in action against Lizaad Williams. Photo: AFP

The Tigers, resuming batting from 139 for five after negotiating 41 overs yesterday, progressed fast to 183 in 55 overs, halfway into morning session, without losing further wicket. Bangladesh's immediate objective would be to pile up 254 runs on the board to avoid follow-on after the hosts amassed 453 in their first innings. The overnight batters Yasir and Mushfiqur Rahim are unbeaten on 41 off 74 and 38 off 85 balls, respective, at the time of filing this report.   

Duyanne Olivier, who scalped two yesterday afternoon, partnered Lizaad from the other end. And Yasir, who resumed on 8 today, nudged Olivier's harmless delivery softly to the on side for a boundary to surpass the score of Mushfiqur, who was yet to add to his overnight score of 30 by then.    

Mushfiqur, who has looked shaky in comparison to his less experienced partner at the other end, came close to being dismissed for a leg before by pacer Olivier but an inside edge saved the batter who was guilty of playing across the line to a straight delivery, much like how Tamim Iqbal and Najmul Shanto brought their downfall yesterday.

Mulder replaced wayward Lazaad in the 49th over of innings and was right on the money as Mushfiqur, lured into a drive, played and missed by a whisker.  

On-song Keshav Maharaj joined Mulder from the other end and was greeted by Yasir as the lad from Chattogram caressed the off-spinner's delivery through the mid-wicket for a boundary. Maharaj, however, is looking dangerous, having already shown to extract a great deal of turn off the surface at St. George's Park, and the star bowler of the first Test almost got Mushfiqur to edge to a flighted turner.  

How the Tigers handle Keshav Maharaj will likely be a key factor today. Photo: AFP