Fazalhaq was angry with Farooqi? Maybe. Now I forgot the ragtag and thanked the Afghan fast bowler. Why, thank you?
The reason is that you have to understand. The victory of Bangladesh got such an epic connotation not because the 21-year-old broke the top order in a devastating spell with a new ball. Otherwise, the victory against Afghanistan would have been so sweet!
Do you remember the beginning of the Bangladesh innings? Scoreboard at the end of 5 overs? In which ’16’ in the run room. Farooqi gave half of that run. But he has bought four wickets for the price of water. 3-1-9-4 … Farooqi is smiling with this incredible bowling figure.
That smile is even wider before the 12th over starts. Bangladesh 45 for 6. The match is over! Even after losing 6 wickets for less than 50 runs, the chances of winning are not very low in ODIs. However, the seventh wicket pair did not get bigger than 55 runs in any of them. And in the first ODI in Chittagong, the situation is such that even if Afif Hossain and Mehedi Hasan Miraj do double, it is not working. Then only three bowlers …. The demand for the remaining 71 runs became a little unrealistic.
What has happened, does it not want to erase the boundaries of real and unreal! Miraj made 51 in his first innings (third match) in ODIs, then in 31 innings he did not see fifty. Afif is never. That Miraj will remain unbeaten on 61 runs, Afif on 93 runs. They will both finish the match with 164 runs for the seventh wicket.
Tamim Iqbal has made it clear in his post-match reaction that he is not in the team. He has openly admitted that he does not believe in winning this way. Not to be. This is the reason why this match must be kept if we list the most memorable victories of Bangladesh in ODIs considering the situation. It was unthinkable for a while that Bangladesh could win this match.
Shakib and Mahmudullah during the epic duo in Cardiff
Shakib and Mahmudullah during the epic duo in CardiffPhoto: Twitter
The list of memorable pairings like the memorable win is a little longer in this match. Talking about the most memorable pair of Bangladesh in ODIs, we have to go back to the 2017 Champions Trophy. After losing 4 wickets for 33 runs against New Zealand in Cardiff, the pair of 224 runs brought victory and spread flowers on the way to the semi-finals. The stage was much bigger, the bowling attack may be sharper, yet Chittagong is not far behind Cardiff. Rich Shakib and Mahmudullah in the experience of the two partners of the pair in Cardiff; In Chittagong where two young men. 33 for 4 and 45 for 6 – no more.
The beginning belongs to Fazalhaq Farooqi but the end is no longer his
The beginning belongs to Fazalhaq Farooqi but the end is no longer hisPhoto: Prothom Alo
This pair of Afif-Miraj standing on the rubble, even if you forget it, still demands applause from this pair. One piece of information is enough to explain why. In the history of 4356 ODIs, only one pair has got bigger than this for the seventh wicket. In terms of numbers, it is 3 runs more, but it is definitely far behind the Afif-Miraj pair in glory. Do you know when Joss Butler and Adil Rashid’s seventh wicket partnership of 16 runs started against New Zealand in Birmingham in June 2015? When England were 202 for 8 in the 30th over. Add another piece of information, that was the first innings of the match, which ended at 408 runs.
Only 215 in the first innings of the match in Chittagong. Tamim Iqbal made it clear that he would have batted first if he had won after losing the toss. He should not have any regrets about the end of Afghanistan’s innings. Zahur Ahmed Stadium wicket 215 or any run! Rashid Khan and Mujib-ur-Rehman must be seen and played. Asking rate is less than four and a half runs, there is no problem to play. It can be assumed that these two spinners from Afghanistan were also discussed in the team meeting of Bangladesh. Another spinner, Mohammad Nabi, may also have a peek. However, there is no doubt that the name of Fazlullah Farooqi has been uttered at all! He did nothing to remember his ODI debut against the Netherlands a month ago. Has bowled as a net bowler for both the IPL teams, The team also got in the IPL auction a few days ago. However, Tamim did not have to recognize Fazalhak Farooqi. In the last BPL, Farooqi was in Tamim-Mahmudullah’s Dhaka team. Didn’t get a chance to play more than three matches, only 2 wickets in those three matches. Tamim should be shocked to see Farooqi in this match.
Congratulations to Afif-Miraj. Thanks again to Fazlehak Farooqi. The first does not seem to need to be explained. And the second one has been mentioned at the beginning.