Home ›› 06 Apr 2023 ›› Sport
Coming into the One-Day International series against Ireland, Mushfiqur Rahim was in a tight spot due to his dismal run of form.
However, in the two matches he batted, the veteran redefined himself with an aggressive mindset at number six, a position where he had not played regularly for almost eight years, by scoring the fastest-ever century by a Bangladeshi.
On Wednesday, he came out to bat at number four in Tests, a position where he batted only 15 times prior, and achieved a new landmark as he became the third Bangladesh batter to reach double digits in centuries for Bangladesh.
The Tigers were reeling from the double blow they faced the previous evening, and Mushfiq’s job on Wednesday evening was to ensure Bangladesh got a healthy total. When Mominul Haque, who has the highest number of Test tons for Bangladesh, got out, the job became even more difficult.
From there, Mushfiq etched a 159-run stand with Shakib Al Hasan and pulled the game into Bangladesh’s favour, and after the latter’s dismissal, Mushfiq continued on the work to reach his century off 135 balls.
Before getting caught in the deep, Mushfiq managed 126 runs off 166 balls, hitting 15 fours and a six. His strike rate was 75.90, significantly higher than his career average of 47.16.
While there can be questions of whether that was aided by the poor bowling and fielding display the Irish put up, one thing is certain that Mushfiq has started to adapt himself to the positive and front-foot approach that this Bangladesh team are trying to implement across formats.
His dismissal, which came trying to hit a six, signifies the change Mushfiq has gone through, and that has already proven to be beneficial as his innings helped Bangladesh score over four-and-a-half runs per over throughout their time at the pitch.
