Around fifteen wickets fell on the opening day in Dhaka, but did not even come close to dismissing Mushfiqur Rahim who became the first Bangladeshi batsman to be given out for ‘obstructing the field’ in Test cricket.
Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal, who was on TV commentary at the time, seemed surprised by Mushfiqur’s dismissal which belied his experience.
“A cricketer who has played more than 80 Tests should know he can’t do that,” Tamim said on air on Wednesday. “Habit of practice can do this. In the nets, batsmen often take the ball in hand and return it to the bowler. Mushfiqur Rahim may have done this unconsciously and extended his hands. But it was clearly there can be no excuse.”
Mushfiqur Rahim dismissal is certainly a distraction on a day when most of Bangladesh’s batsmen were guilty of playing poor shots. It looked like they were recovering after three early wickets, but it all got worse with the dismissal of Mushfiqur, who was dismissed in the 41st over as he defended the ball from Kyle Jamieson and then pushed the ball away. Used his right hand to throw. After an immediate appeal by New Zealand, TV umpire Ahsan Raza gave him out.
“Yeah, maybe not a great choice, because he looked very good,” Santner said. “I mean when he and Shahadat applied themselves it was useful for us and it was a very good partnership for them.”
However, Bangladesh all-rounder Mehdi Hasan was not ready to put the blame on the senior campaigner.
Mehdi said, “Look it was not done intentionally, it just happened with the flow. No one wants to go out intentionally.” “There are a lot of things going on in the back of the mind during different situations in the game.
“In the World Cup, we got a time-out against a Sri Lankan batsman, but what happened today with Mushfiq Bhai, it all happened in one flow. When I was batting after playing a shot and when the ball was coming Near the stumps, you have to make quick decisions about what you can do and what you can’t do. Certainly he didn’t do that intentionally.
Despite the manner of his dismissal, Mushfiqur Rahim was the outstanding batsman of the day, displaying authority and control on a pitch that was a haven for slow bowlers. Moreover, he did this when he was feeling discomfort after suffering an injury to the calf muscle of his left leg. Later he also started limping and it was clear from his facial expressions that he was having difficulty batting in the middle.
Previously, such an out was considered ‘handled the ball’, but changes to the laws in 2017 brought it into the ‘obstructing the field’ category.
According to Rule 37.1.2, “The striker is out for causing obstruction in the field if, except in the circumstances of 37.2, in the act of receiving a ball bowled by the bowler, he intentionally strikes the ball with the hand without holding the bat . This will apply whether it is the first strike or the second or subsequent strike. The act of receiving the ball will extend to playing the ball and striking the ball more than once in order to protect one’s wicket.”