Bangladesh wicket-keeper batter Mushfiqur Rahim has made an unfortunate record as he became only the second batter in Test cricket history to be dismissed for ‘obstructing the field’. The incident occurred on the first day of the second Test match against New Zealand in Dhaka. Rahim pushed the ball away from the stumps with his hand after defending a delivery from Kyle Jamieson.
After the day’s play, spinner Mehidy Hasan defended Rahim during the press conference, stating that it was not intentional from the experienced cricketer. Hasan also referred to the ‘timed out’ dismissal of Sri Lankan batter Angelo Matthews in the Cricket World Cup 2023 while discussing Rahim’s incident.
Hasan explained, “Look, this one was not intentional, it just happened with the flow. Nobody wants to get out knowingly. There are a lot of things going around at the back of the mind during different situations in a game. In the World Cup, we got a timed-out dismissal against a Sri Lankan batter in our favor, but today what happened with Mushfiq bhai, it all happened in a flow.”
He further added, “When I am batting after playing a shot and when the ball is coming near the stumps, I have to make quick decisions about what I can do and what I can’t. Certainly, he didn’t do that intentionally.”
Hasan and Taijul Islam played a crucial role in Bangladesh’s comeback against New Zealand. They shared five wickets between them, helping Bangladesh bring themselves back into contention with New Zealand struggling at 55-5.
The first day’s play in Dhaka saw an astonishing 15 wickets fall, with Bangladesh being all out for just 172. This innings witnessed Rahim becoming only the second batsman in Test history to be dismissed for obstructing the field.
In the final session of the day, Hasan and Islam decimated New Zealand’s batting lineup before bad light led to an early finish.
Hasan dismissed Devon Conway (11), Kane Williamson (13), and Tom Blundell (0), while Islam claimed the wickets of Tom Latham (4) and Henry Nicholls (1), erasing the tourists’ early advantage.
“We believed that we could make life difficult for them if we bowled in the right areas,” Hasan commented after the day’s play. “We struggled against their spinners. We know these conditions pretty well, so that gave our bowlers the confidence that we could take more advantage from this pitch.”
At the end of the day’s play, Daryl Mitchell was batting on 12 alongside Glenn Phillips on five, with nine overs remaining.
Earlier, Mitchell Santner and Phillips impressed with their bowling performances, taking 3-65 and 3-31 respectively, after Bangladesh chose to bat. Ajaz Patel also claimed 2-54 for New Zealand as they dominated in their attempt to level the two-match series.
(With AFP inputs)
