Fizz back to his best at Bangabandhu T20 Cup

Mustafizur Rahman is undoubtedly the premier pace bowler of the country at the moment. He also did justice to his name as he showcased some great performances in the recently concluded Bangabandhu T20 Cup. Gazi Group Chattogram’s left-arm pacer was also recognised as the best player of the tourney. However, despite his extraordinary skill, his team could not win the title.

Before Friday’s final against Gemcon Khulna, Mustafiz scalped 21 wickets. Everyone witnessed his immaculate bowling display in the final as well. 

The pacer grabbed 1 wicket by giving away only 24 runs in 4 overs. But in response to Gemcon Khulna’s 155/7, his team could not score more than 150/7. In a thrilling finale, which went onto last over, his team fell 5 runs short.

In all, Mustafiz scalped 22 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 11.04. As well as knocking down opponents, his control over deliveries throughout the event was also dazzling. He averaged just 6.25 runs per over. Mustafiz received a prize of Tk 3 lakh as the best player of the competition. He also bagged the award for the best bowler in the T20 Cup. As a result, the Fizz got another 2 lakh taka.

Mustafiz along with Shoriful Islam of the youth World Cup winning Bangladesh team, formed the most lethal pace attack of the tournament. The combination of two left-arm pacers made the opponent’s batsmen tremble in almost all the matches. Shoriful, who grabbed 16 wickets, bowled with the new ball but Mustafiz came in as the third, fourth or fifth bowler to attack.

In the middle overs, the Fizz’s resolute bowling did not allow the opponent team’s batsmen to score easy runs and he also brought break-through at crucial times. 

Mustafiz has always been effective in death overs. He showed that consistency in this tourney as well. He got the best bowling figure in the preliminary round against their final counterpart Khulna. In the first match against Khulna in the group stage, he grabbed 4 wickets by giving away only 5 runs.