Breaking the bat, Mustafizur style

Plays of the day from the second T20I between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in Mirpur

The bat-breaking cutter

Regis Chakabva tried to fend back a Mustafizur Rahman cutter that nearly lobbed back to the left-arm bowler, but it fell inches short. Though Chakabva was safe, his bat was gone. The ball struck the splice of the bat, bending it backwards and it required Chakabva to change his bat.

The grab

Sean Williams dived to his left full length to take a superb catch in the fifth over of the Bangladesh innings. The on-field umpires took a second look at the catch, but it was always going to be a clean grab. Imrul Kayes, the batsman, was disappointed to see his square drive thwarted in such spectacular fashion. The catch slowed down Bangladesh's approach after Kayes and Tamim Iqbal had made a fast start.

The false reverse

Anamul Haque had cleanly struck a reverse sweep in the eighth over, the ball flying over short third-man for his first boundary. Devoid of big hits and battling a slow run-rate, Anamul's second attempt at the shot in the 14th over also yielded a four, but it was given as byes as both Anamul and wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva missed the ball. It was one of two boundaries during a fourth-wicket stand that lasted 6.1 overs.

The dangerous footwork

Sikandar Raza leaned into Mashrafe Mortaza's first delivery of the Zimbabwe innings, but expected the ball to be fielded by Mahmudullah at mid-off. Mahmudullah tried to stop the ball with a sliding left foot that could have twisted dangerously. He missed the ball and it went to the boundary, but the damage could have been far worse for Bangladesh.

The unstoppable policeman

After Mustafizur Rahman overstepped and handed Neville Madviza a reprieve in the 19th over, the players got back to their mark. Suddenly two policemen started to run past the sight-screen as the bowler waited for Madviza to take strike. Another policeman was about to run away when a groundstaff held him by the arm, refusing to let go. They argued for a second before the policeman freed himself and walked across the sightscreen. By then, Mustafizur was already in his run-up, and Madziva missed the free-hit. The batsman didn't complain though.