Mahmudullah hails ‘brilliant’ Fizz

Mahmudullah Riyad fell in the nervous nineties for the first time in his international career, but not before the veteran smashed a brilliant run-a-ball 98 to propel Bangladesh to 244 for eight in the series-deciding third ODI against Afghanistan in Sharjah yesterday.

Mahmudullah, who came to bat after Bangladesh slipped to 72 for four in the 15th over from 53-0, once again played a characteristic saviour's innings. His knock consisted of an initial rescue act before he switched gears in the later part.

The 38-year-old, who announced his retirement from the shortest format during the last India series, had been under scrutiny for the last couple of months for not performing up to the mark, as evidenced by his tally of only six runs in his last four ODI innings.

However, Mahmudullah rose from the ashes by demonstrating a performance when the Tigers required it most, silencing the critics and putting his side in a decent position after they elected to bat first.

Initially, Mahmudullah seemed to struggle with his fitness as he called the physio after playing only his fifth delivery, but he chose to continue by taking a painkiller and concentrating more on rebuilding the innings with stand-in skipper Mehedi Hasan Miraz, who was playing his 100th ODI.

Despite his discomfort and Miraz's cautious approach, which saw him score the fifth slowest ODI fifty for Bangladesh (106 balls), Mahmudullah kept the Bangladesh scoreboard ticking and completed his 29th ODI fifty in this format off 63 balls in the 40th over.

Soon afterwards, Mahmudullah changed gears in his innings, as he took a more attacking approach during the third Powerplay and smashed Afghan spinners for a few quick boundaries to accelerate Bangladesh's innings, although he was seen limping on several occasions.

Although Miraz lost his wicket to Azmatullah Omarzai, the best performer for Afghanistan on the day with a career-best 4-37, this brought an end to a record-breaking 145-run fifth-wicket stand with Mahmudullah. The veteran continued pushing the Bangladesh innings, defying all physical odds on the day, and it also reinstated the justification for his place in the side.

Mahmudullah had the chance of completing his fifth ODI ton -- his first apart from ICC events, where he scored all his previous four hundreds -- when he required only four runs in the final over of Bangladesh's innings. However, although he faced three balls, he could only take two runs before finally being run out on the last ball.

Although Mahmudullah remained without a century in bilateral series or the Asia Cup, he instilled the idea that he may even score his maiden bilateral ton in the upcoming West Indies series before he heads for another ICC event -- the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan -- which could possibly be his ODI swansong as well.

After an agonising defeat in the final of the Asia Cup against India in UAE on Friday night, the Bangladesh cricket team returned home last night with heads held high.

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and his troops fought till the last ball of the match defending a small total of 222, but ended up as runners-up once again.

It was a mixed bag for the Tigers in terms of performance and there were a lot of incidents on and off the field, making the competition a memorable one.

It started with Tamim Iqbal's return to bat with a finger injury and defending a Suranga Lakmal delivery against Sri Lanka in the opening game where the left-hander left the field early after suffering a blow to his left hand knuckle against the same bowler. Tamim's bravery was praised worldwide.

Mushfiqur Rahim smashed a magnificent hundred with a fractured rib in the same game before scoring 99 against Pakistan while Shakib Al Hasan's departure from the tournament following a finger injury ahead of the Pakistan game made matters more desperate for the Tigers.

Tigers' next assignment will be the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe later this month featuring three ODIs and two Test matches.

The Zimbabwe series will be followed by another home series against West Indies in November where they will play two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is.

"We have two home series and the New Zealand tour. We have a lot of work to do in the next two series, where we will have to play well," Mashrafe told reporters after the defeat in the final on Friday.

The team management will also have to deal with the injury concerns of the senior members of the side ahead of the home series.

Bangladesh is a seasoned customer of heartbreaking finishes. As a Bangladeshi fan, all that could have gone in our favour naturally becomes glaringly obvious and sharpens the pain of losses in tight matches, such as the one against South Africa. Bangladesh lost the match by four runs—runs that were denied to the team due to a faulty decision by the on-field umpire. As the umpire raised his finger to Mahmudullah's dismay, the ball raced behind him to the boundary. He immediately reviewed the decision and successfully overturned it, but because of a rule of the game, the ball was deemed a dead ball and those four runs ultimately became the margin by which Bangladesh lost the game. That fact is salt to the wound for Bangladeshis as much as it is a consolation prize. Fans can look to moments like this to convince themselves that we nearly did it and lost it for something that was out of our control.

Sidharth Monga's insightful match analysis of the game, "The Bangladesh-SA thriller that you think you saw, but TV didn't fully show" on ESPNcricinfo sheds more light on the uncontrollable factors that did not go in Bangladesh's favour. He talked about the three full tosses that Maharaj bowled in the last over—deliveries that arguably should have helped Bangladesh score the required 10 runs. With Mahmudullah on strike and six to defend from two balls, Maharaj attempted to bowl a yorker. It was wind of all things that made the difference. It picked up just then behind Maharaj and turned the ball into a full toss instead of the attempted yorker. This became the batter's advantage and Mahmudullah was perfectly placed to finish the match with one winning shot. But as Monga says, "What made Maharaj miss his execution also helped him." The same wind resisted the trajectory of Mahmudullah's shot, holding it just long enough in the air to not clear the boundary. The knife in the wound twists.

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Do Bangladesh have enough runs to make a mark in the 2024 T20 World Cup?

The only solution for Bangladesh to escape what feels like the curse of losing heartbreaking and close matches is to be so good that these factors no longer make a difference. I cannot say with certainty, but I am sure that other teams like ours who are often nearly there but not quite enough find a plethora of examples where if only things were slightly different, they would emerge victorious. The goal has to be to become a team that displays indomitable spirit and is so capable that they are largely always in control of the game. I doubt that achieving this high standard of cricket exempts a team from facing the short end of the stick in times of uncertainty. It's just that the team's performance would then be so strong that small factors no longer have much sway in defining the outcome of the game.

When it comes to factors within the team's control, the batters' weakness against the short ball stands out. Both Shanto and Shakib got out to similar deliveries in the same fashion where they did not seem to have any idea of how to execute a shot against a short ball. The two players' years of experience vary greatly, and yet they seemed to have the same approach. This can be an example of the fact that when problems emerge in the team—which is only fair and expected—it is allowed to persist instead of being addressed with a strategy in place to overcome the weakness.

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Coming to terms with the dire state of Bangladesh men's cricket

The Bangladeshi bowlers maintained excellent discipline throughout the first innings. They made the most of the early breakthroughs and did not falter in line and length even when the partnership grew after the fourth wicket. They pulled it back nicely towards the end of the innings with Mustafiz bowling a stunning last over that gave away only four runs. The bowlers seem to be in much more harmony with each other than the batters of the team. The bowlers' performance is that of a cohesive unit where if one has a bad over, they do not let the momentum get away from them. The captaincy was also commendable in terms of backing players who bowl expensive overs such as Rishad, who came back after bowling three overs for 28 runs to get the wicket of David Miller.

Bangladesh is experienced in playing and winning low-scoring T20 matches, but sadly the support of the batters is sorely missed. Surely, there cannot be an easier target to chase in a T20 match than 114. As always, Mahmudullah Riyad continues to be the most dependable asset of the team and has perhaps been its true leader without ever donning any feathers.

Madiha Athar Khan is a columnist for The Daily Star and a technical writer at Optimizely. She also leads the Art for Soul movement. She can be reached at madihak1923@gmail.com

Views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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Mahmudullah Riyad became the last of the 'big five' of Bangladesh -- also including Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, and Mashrafe Bin Mortaza -- to announce his retirement from T20Is on Tuesday. 

The 38-year-old said that the third and final T20I in the Tigers' ongoing India series would be his last in the format. As he bids adieu to the shortest format, here we look at some of the interesting facts about the cricketer: 
 

• 139 -- Mahmudullah has played the most number of T20Is for Bangladesh.
• 2395 -- He is the second-highest run-getter in the format for the Tigers after Shakib Al Hasan who amassed 2551 runs.
• With 16 wins from 43 T20I matches, Mahmudullah shares the record for the most victories as Bangladesh's T20I captain alongside Shakib Al Hasan.
• In September 2021, he became the first Bangladesh cricketer to reach 100 T20I appearances.
• Under his captaincy, Bangladesh scored 200 runs for the first time when they chased down 214 to win the game against Sri Lanka in the Nidahas Trophy in 2018. The 215-5 still stands as the Tigers' highest-ever total in the format.
• The 38-year-old, who made his T20I debut in 2007, batted in six different positions in his career, ranging from three to eight. He has batted at five and six the most number of times with 51 and 47 appearances in those positions, respectively. He has scored the most runs -- 951 -- at six.
• He held the national record for the most economical bowling in a T20I innings for over a decade, since 2014, when he conceded eight runs in four overs against Afghanistan.