Mustafizur again makes the difference for Bangladesh
Mustafizur Rahman, often called the Cutter Master, burst onto the scene in international cricket a decade ago with the magical brilliance of his cutters.
At times, that weapon has dulled, but its impact has never truly faded. Time and again, the flick of his wrist has rescued Bangladesh in crucial matches. The Super Four tie against Sri Lanka on Saturday night happened to be one of those games.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. In T20Is, Mustafizur is now the joint highest wicket-taker among Bangladeshi players alongside Shakib Al Hasan with 149 scalps. Statistics reveal that 103 of those wickets have come in matches that the Tigers have won, in which he conceded runs at just 6.20 per over.
Here's another telling fact: in T20Is this year, Mustafizur's presence has practically meant victory. Bangladesh lost all eight matches without him, but with him in the side, they lost just once in 11 games.
The pitches in the UAE offer a bit of grip, perfect for Mustafizur. And it was on one of these surfaces that Sri Lanka's Dasun Shanaka, who had been tearing into the Bangladesh bowlers, realised how difficult it is to handle the left-arm pacer.
In the middle overs, Shanaka's aggression left Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam struggling to find areas to bowl. They leaked runs at 12.20 and 9.20 per over respectively. In contrast, Sri Lanka couldn't score more than 20 runs off Mustafizur's four overs -- and in the process, he took three wickets.
He could have had more successes. Every time batsmen tried to hit him, the ball went up in the air, falling just short of fielders or slipping through their hands.
Without such a spell, Sri Lanka--having raced to 53 runs in the Powerplay--might have run away with the game. But in the 7th over, Mustafizur tightened the screws, giving away just three runs. The very next over, under that pressure, Sri Lanka lost a wicket.
This has happened countless times in T20s--Mustafizur applies the pressure, and bowlers at the other end reap the rewards.
Returning in the 14th over, when Bangladesh desperately needed a breakthrough, he delivered--conceding just six runs and dismissing Kusal Perera.
Then came his death-over magic. In the 17th, he completely outfoxed an aggressive Shanaka, allowing only six runs despite a dropped catch. In the 19th, his double strike stopped Sri Lanka from pushing towards 180. Had they reached that mark, even Saif Hassan and Tawhid Hridoy's brilliant half-centuries might not have been enough to secure victory.
The scoreboard will show that Mustafizur wasn't the player-of-the-match -- that honour went to Saif. But in terms of influence, it was Mustafizur who set the tone and laid the foundation for victory.
As Saif Hassan put it, "You can see for yourself--whenever he bowls, it's always in tough situations. He always comes on when the team is under pressure, and most of the time he delivers. That's why I think he has the most impact in critical moments.
"His bowling has always been good. For the past few months, he's been in great shape. Even today [Saturday], despite the overall runs scored, he gave away very few. He takes wickets at vital moments."
With conditions suiting him and form on his side, Mustafizur could well carry Bangladesh to something big in this Asia Cup.
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