Thanks to the replay feature of WillowTV I witnessed one of the most nerveless inning I have ever seen during a run chase. Other batsmen took the glory but watching Mahmudullah calmly farm the strike and play out the good deliveries, showing no sign of panic in spite of Bangladesh's precarious position, was a sight for sore eyes. There is always room for a calm head in a tense chase. Cricket may increasingly advertise its slam-bang nature, but the wins are set up by the pillars, not the wall hangings.
I have followed Mahmudullah quite closely since his Test debut a couple of years ago. (Yes, I do watch all kinds of Test cricket - including Bangladesh!) I wasn't surprised when he scored a century under pressure in New Zealand last year and it is not surprising that his 21 in 42 balls with the team 8 wickets down proved to be the fulcrum that Shafiul Islam used to pry open a win from a tenacious English team.
Unfortunately, in a few days, folks will have moved on. Someone looking at the scorecard in a few years will simply focus on the contribution of Iqbal and Kayes and Islam. Everyone else will forget his contribution, but I shall always cherish this inning from Mahmudullah. Long may he serve the game of cricket.
I have followed Mahmudullah quite closely since his Test debut a couple of years ago. (Yes, I do watch all kinds of Test cricket - including Bangladesh!) I wasn't surprised when he scored a century under pressure in New Zealand last year and it is not surprising that his 21 in 42 balls with the team 8 wickets down proved to be the fulcrum that Shafiul Islam used to pry open a win from a tenacious English team.
Unfortunately, in a few days, folks will have moved on. Someone looking at the scorecard in a few years will simply focus on the contribution of Iqbal and Kayes and Islam. Everyone else will forget his contribution, but I shall always cherish this inning from Mahmudullah. Long may he serve the game of cricket.
2 comments:
Well said. Shakib and Mahmudullah have been the two pillars of consistency around whom the present Bangladesh team is built. I am definitely rooting for them!
Calmness under pressure is walways appreciated, but only after the fact. During the run-chase, since everyone else is tense, they tend to get upset that Batsman A is showing no signs of hitting fours and sixes. You don't always need to hit every ball for a boundary. Mahmudullah appeared to have sussed it out quite well.
In the Indian team, Kohli is fast going Dravid's way. I hope Kohli realizes that the chances he will get will be haphazard but his reputation can only burgeon if he continues to stay with his core strengths, while embellishing them with specific skills along the way.
Rahul Dravid finished with over 10,000 ODI runs. Kohli will do well to take a leaf out of his book.
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