Mustafizur Rahman Has Debut to Remember as Bangladesh Beat India

At the start of play in the first one-day international against India in Mirpur, Bangladesh would have been hopeful of making an impact—even against a full-strength opposition.

What followed was nothing short of magnificent. They posted 307 all out first up with the bat then dismissed India for 228 to win by 79 runs.

The batsmen flourished in home conditions, but it was 19-year-old left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman who stole the show with five for 50 in 9.2 overs on debut.

Rahman was one of two uncapped players named to the ODI squad for the three-match series, but never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined the day he had.

Handed the new ball by captain Mushfiqur Rahim, he came in for some treatment initially before striking to remove Rohit Sharma, caught by Mashrafe Bin Mortaza.

In his next over, Ajinkya Rahane followed, caught by Nasir Hossain as Bangladesh started to gather some momentum with the ball.

Unfortunately, Rahman was forced off the field after colliding with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, but he recovered to resume his spell later on.

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His first over back after a breather was stunning, as he removed the dangerous Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin with consecutive deliveries.

To wrap things up, he completed his five-wicket haul by snagging Ravindra Jadeja and almost had six except he dropped a return catch from Mohit Sharma.

In the end, five wickets on debut for a 19-year-old seam bowler against one of the strongest and deepest batting lineups in the world is quite a return.

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However, it was the manner in which he earned his dismissals that should give Bangladesh fans the most optimism for the future.

Rahman bowled various cutters as he took pace off the ball and got it moving well off the pitch, while he also showed some good pace and skid at other times.

It shows a great understanding of the conditions available to him far beyond his 19 years and shows he is willing to bowl to his strengths regardless of the opposition.

In removing Raina and Ashwin with consecutive deliveries, he also showed a willingness to keep up the pressure when it might have been easy to relax against a new batsman.

Rahman is still very inexperienced at any level, having played just 10 First Class matches and five List A matches before today’s game.

In addition, his Twenty20 International debut for Bangladesh against Pakistan earlier this year was also his first-ever game in the shortest format for any side.

However, against the No. 2 side in ODIs in the world, Rahman showed himself capable of thriving in international cricket and against the very best.

On the strength of this game, and his previous performances, he has a bright future for Bangladesh and should give them even more depth in the seam-bowling department.