Tigers must win game against Kiwis
Mushfiq ruled out of rest of ODI series; Mustafiz likely to be rested
Sports Reporter
Bangladesh received a huge setback in its must-win second ODI against New Zealand as the key middle order batsman-cum wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim was ruled out from the action because of hamstring injury.
The team management ensured wicket-keeper batsman Nurul Hasan Sohan would be his replacement and make his ODI debut. Nurul Hasan earlier played six T20 Internationals for Bangladesh.
This was not only the blow Bangladesh faced as there are talks that pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman would be rested since he came off long injury. Team management source informed that the physio is not willing to take risk with the prodigious bowler.
Coach Chandika Hathurusingha on the other hand hinted that Soumya Sarkar could be rested because of his off form. If those two players were ruled out for the second game, Bangladesh would have to bring up three changes to the squad that was outplayed by 77 runs in the first game. Leg-spinner Tanbir Hydar, pace bowler Shuvashis Roy are in the contention to fill the void if Soumya and Mustafizur are really rested.
But obviously the absence of Mushfiqur would be huge considering he not only has been the mainstay of the middle order but also has been in a fine form.
Mushfiqur, one of Bangladeshs better performers in the first ODI in Christchurch on Monday when he scored 42 before retiring hurt with the niggle, will be out for at least two weeks, Chandika Hathurusinghe, the teams coach, announced on Wednesday morning.
We are looking at two weeks, anything before is a bonus, said Hathurusinghe. Hes been one of the form batters as well as the wicketkeeper for a long time, across all three formats, so its a blow but thats part and parcel of the game. New Zealand won the first game by 77 runs after scoring 341 for 7 and bowling Bangladesh out for 264 in 44.5 overs.
As a consequence of the injury, Rahim will not only miss the rest of the ODIs, but also the three-match Twenty20 International series that takes place before the two Test matches.
Nurul Hasan, a part of the overall touring party of 23 players but not in the 15-man squad for the first ODI, gets a chance to make his debut in Rahims absence, that too at a ground that has happy memories for Bangladesh. It holds the record for the highest team total at Saxton Oval in ODIs, 322 for 4 against Scotland during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
In Christchurch, Tamim Iqbal (38 in 59 balls), Shakib Al Hasan, who top-scored with a 54-ball 59 after being Bangladeshs most successful bowler with 3 for 69, and Mosaddek Hossain (50 not out in 44) were the best batsmen apart from Rahim, and the team would be looking at the first two, the experienced campaigners, to shore up the batting along with Mahmudullah at No. 4.
New Zealand, riding on Tom Lathams 121-ball 137 and Colin Munros 87 from 61 balls, put up a big score as all the bowlers bar Mosaddek, the off-spinner, conceded upwards of six runs an over, and Taskin Ahmed went for 70 from his nine overs. Mustafizur Rahman, the International Cricket Councils Emerging Player of the Year, must lead the attack in Nelson after returning 2 for 62 in what was his first match on return from shoulder surgery. And there might a temptation to blood Mehedi Hasan, the star of Bangladeshs series-levelling effort in the Test series at home against England earlier this year, to try and exploit any weakness the New Zealanders might have against quality off-spin. From New Zealands point of view, after being flayed by Australia 3-0 earlier this month, which came on the back of a 2-3 series defeat in India, the team got back on the right side of the ledger with the win in the first ODI. Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain, came out promising aggression prior to the series, and the team certainly showed the right intent with the bat.
Following the Australia drubbing, New Zealand resisted the urge for wholesale changes but did recall veterans Neil Broom and Luke Ronchi, both of whom featured in the Christchurch game but didnt do much with the bat. With Ross Taylor missing following eye surgery, the onus is squarely on the likes of Williamson and Martin Guptill, the stars in the line-up, to do the big job with the bat. After moderate returns in the first game, the two men would be geared up for the challenge.
New Zealand, ranked No. 4 on the International Cricket Council table, is the favourite, but Bangladesh, which certainly didnt disgrace itself in the first game, would be desperate to keep its recent surge though mainly at home going and put up a performance that belies its No. 7 ranking. If it can do that, the series will stay alive.
New Zealand, meanwhile, is sure to try and seal it with one game in hand.
