Debutant Mehedi leaves cricket world spellbound

Mehedi Hasan Miraj, the star of Bangladesh’s exploits in the recent Under-19 World Cup was tipped to be the next big thing of the country. His ability to read the game at the age of just 18 prompted the team management to bet on him. The pre-match speculation however revolved around that the teen-ager could stand tall to stall the charge of the opponent who has been so dominant in longer version for years.
Mehedi proved the speculation preciously right by hogging the headline in spectacular fashion. He became the youngest Bangladeshi bowler and overall fourth youngest to claim five-for on debut. It looked to be inevitable right from the start when Mushfiqur Rahim chose him to open the bowling in a rage turner that offered plenty of turn and variable bounces. Employing a turn, drift and guile with precision and perfection, Mehedi tormented England batsmen in such way that they had never faced off late. “I don’t go for any experiment—just bowl wicket-to-wicket as I was advised by the skipper and senior players,” said Mehedi after his memorable debut that left the people spellbound.
“The international cricket is tougher than anticipation. I delivered the ball outside of the stump in my first over and saw the England batsman easily left those. Then I got the point, it won’t be easy to get wickets here. You have to earn it by bowling patiently and dedicatedly.”
His performance had already earned an accolade for him from the World No.1 bowler Ravichandran Ashwin who is also an off-spinner like Mehedi. “The offie is tremendous,” Ashwin twitted.
While the people was amazed by the way he ripped through the England batting line up, it came as little surprise for the people who has been watching him for long. “Mehedi could thrive even on a wicket which offers nothing. This was turning track and so this feat was inevitable,” said veteran coach Jalal Ahmed Chowdhury.
His transition from the junior side to senior team was seamless. Mehedi originally hailed from Barisal but started cricket career in Khulna, scored 242 runs and grabbed 12 wickets in six matches to be the man of the tournament in the ICC Under-19 World Cup as Bangladesh side finished third, led by him.
The selectors pinned high hopes on him as they were amazed to how smoothly he translated his U19 form to the domestic circuit. He won some matches single-handedly for low-profile Kalabagan Cricket Academy in the highly competitive Dhaka Premier League, substantiating the anticipation of the cricket experts preciously right.
Neither his run scoring ability nor his wicket-taking skill was dried up as he started playing first class cricket. He has 41 wickets and almost 800 runs with five-half centuries at a decent average of 40.30 in 12 first class matches under his belt. Most of the domestic league performers couldn’t translate the form with the national side but Mehedi was unlikely to be bracketed in that group. “I knew I was ready for the Test cricket and I wanted to take the challenge. As I won it, I am really happy but I also know I have a mile to go. This is just the beginning,” he said. Moeen was completely outfoxed by superbly skilful piece of bowling from Mehedi, who found flight, dip, grip and bounce to take the edge through to the keeper.

Debutant Mehedi leaves cricket world spellbound

Mehedi Hasan Miraj, the star of Bangladeshs exploits in the recent Under-19 World Cup was tipped to be the next big thing of the country. His ability to read the game at the age of just 18 prompted the team management to bet on him. The pre-match speculation however revolved around that the teen-ager could stand tall to stall the charge of the opponent who has been so dominant in longer version for years. Mehedi proved the speculation preciously right by hogging the headline in spectacular fashion. He became the youngest Bangladeshi bowler and overall fourth youngest to claim five-for on debut. It looked to be inevitable right from the start when Mushfiqur Rahim chose him to open the bowling in a rage turner that offered plenty of turn and variable bounces. Employing a turn, drift and guile with precision and perfection, Mehedi tormented England batsmen in such way that they had never faced off late. I dont go for any experimentjust bowl wicket-to-wicket as I was advised by the skipper and senior players, said Mehedi after his memorable debut that left the people spellbound. The international cricket is tougher than anticipation. I delivered the ball outside of the stump in my first over and saw the England batsman easily left those. Then I got the point, it wont be easy to get wickets here. You have to earn it by bowling patiently and dedicatedly. His performance had already earned an accolade for him from the World No.1 bowler Ravichandran Ashwin who is also an off-spinner like Mehedi. The offie is tremendous, Ashwin twitted. While the people was amazed by the way he ripped through the England batting line up, it came as little surprise for the people who has been watching him for long. Mehedi could thrive even on a wicket which offers nothing. This was turning track and so this feat was inevitable, said veteran coach Jalal Ahmed Chowdhury. His transition from the junior side to senior team was seamless. Mehedi originally hailed from Barisal but started cricket career in Khulna, scored 242 runs and grabbed 12 wickets in six matches to be the man of the tournament in the ICC Under-19 World Cup as Bangladesh side finished third, led by him. The selectors pinned high hopes on him as they were amazed to how smoothly he translated his U19 form to the domestic circuit. He won some matches single-handedly for low-profile Kalabagan Cricket Academy in the highly competitive Dhaka Premier League, substantiating the anticipation of the cricket experts preciously right. Neither his run scoring ability nor his wicket-taking skill was dried up as he started playing first class cricket. He has 41 wickets and almost 800 runs with five-half centuries at a decent average of 40.30 in 12 first class matches under his belt. Most of the domestic league performers couldnt translate the form with the national side but Mehedi was unlikely to be bracketed in that group. I knew I was ready for the Test cricket and I wanted to take the challenge. As I won it, I am really happy but I also know I have a mile to go. This is just the beginning, he said. Moeen was completely outfoxed by superbly skilful piece of bowling from Mehedi, who found flight, dip, grip and bounce to take the edge through to the keeper.