South Africa vs Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim, the batsman, stands tall amidst wide criticism

Whether it is on the field or off it, Mushfiqur Rahim is not someone who holds back his emotions. We have seen it during that famous run chase against India in the World T20 match in Bengaluru or in the recent press conferences in South Africa where he took a dig at his own teammates as well as at the board members for putting the entire blame of the Test series defeat on him. Bangladesh’s Mr. Dependable is a proud individual and he likes to express it as well. However, on Sunday at the Dimond Oval in Kimberly, we saw a different version of Rahim—a clam and determined individual who was out there to prove a point. [caption id=“attachment_4147897” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mushfiqur Rahim in action during the 1st ODI between South Africa and Bangladesh at Diamond Oval. Getty[/caption] In all probability, the past one week has been the toughest phase in Rahim’s career. Following the meek surrender against the Proteas in the Test series, the board, the media and the passionate Bangladesh fans widely criticised him for being a weak leader. Overnight, he became a villain of the nation. In fact, let alone the hatred in the social media or in public, following his controversial comments during the Bloemfontein Test, the president of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Nazmul Hasan too publicly criticised the Rahim for “harming the image of Bangladesh cricket.” Hasan put his role as the Test skipper under scrutiny and there are still dark clouds hovering over his captaincy career. Under these circumstances, Rahim opted for the 22 yards as a platform to answer his critics and in the end, it turned out to be a wise decision, thanks to that gutsy unbeaten 110 off 116 balls. In process, he became the first Bangladesh batsman to score an ODI century against South Africa. In the first ODI of the three-match series, which started on Sunday, when Rahim walked out to bat at No 4 in the 14th over, his battle was not only against the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Dane Paterson, Imran Tahir and other South African bowlers, he was also fighting against the humiliation which he had experienced of late despite putting in more than 100 percent for the country. One could imagine the kind of pressure under which Rahim would have been during the course of this particular innings. However, he not only managed to survive, the 30-year old Bogra-born soft spoken cricketer also thrived under under immense pressure. The wicket was slow and the experienced Rahim decided to play with the straight bat in the beginning of his innings to get himself going. Bangladesh were 67 for 2 when he joined Shakib Al Hasan at the crease. Right from the start, he made his intentions quite clear – it was payback time. Rahim hit two lusty boundaries against medium pacer Dwaine Pretorius at the start of his innings. In the first one, he stood upright and beautifully placed the ball to the point boundary, whereas the second one was punched down the ground. It wasn’t an easy task for a newcomer at the crease to time and place the balls so smoothly on a slow wicket, but it was Rahim’s class, which was on display. When wickets were falling at the other end, Rahim just kept on playing the role of a sheet anchor. No one apart from him could cross the 30-run mark. The frequent fall of wickets did not allow the set Rahim to up the ante. Though towards the end we saw some improvisations like reverse-sweep and scoops.

For the large contingent of the Bangladesh supporters on the ground, the most memorable moment of the match came in the third ball of the 46th over, when Rahim pushed one through short cover off Rabada and completed two runs to reach his fifth ODI ton and by far the most satisfactory one. The innings was filled with 11 boundaries and two sixes — a sign of his domination at the crease. But there was hardly any celebration from him. This expression was enough to express the pain which Rahim had been through of late.

Thanks to his lone fight, Bangladesh reached 278, which, at the halfway stage, seemed like a competitive score. But Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla had some other ideas as they helped South Africa romp home by 10 wickets. However, despite the result, Rahim’s innings stands tall as one of the most notable knocks played by a Bangladesh batsman in any format of international cricket. He dealt with immense internal and external pressure and came out with flying colours. The heavy loss would have hurt but the century would have brought much-needed relief to Rahim.