Mustafizur Rahman shone brightly in his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut match. He was playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad and it was a day for the batsmen of the opponents Royal Challengers Banglaore led by Virat Kohli. He and AB De Villiers played magnificently and piled up 227 runs in stipulated 20 overs. All the bowlers of Hyderabad were molested by Kohli-Devilliers duo. But as Mustafizur came on to bowl in the 18th and 20th overs, the scenario changed dramatically. With tight and natural bowling Mustafizur grabbed two important wickets of Devilliers and Watson and gave away only 26 runs in his 4 overs. Other bowlers of the the Sunrisers, including Ashish Nehra, the spearhead of Indian attack in the recently concluded World T20 tournament, were too expensive as a result of which the team lost the match. Mustafizur gave a sparkling display of his bowling genius and stemmed the rot partly. Who knows, if he were brought earlier in the mid-overs when Kohli and Devilliers were on rampage, the total score of RCB would have been lot less.
I am sure the Sunrisers will bounce back in their next matches and Mustafizur will maintain his high standard of bowling. Well done, Mustafizur!
Sajjad Hossain
Gulshan, Dhaka
