Mosaddek ready for a repeat
All eyes were on young batsman Mosaddek Hossain during the lone practice one-day match involving Afghanistan and the BCB XI in Fatullah yesterday.
The right-hander, who has just made it into the Tigers' rank as the lone uncapped player for the first two ODIs against Afghanistan, walked into the middle with his team precariously placed at 15 for two chasing the visitors' 233. The situation was ideal for any young man out to prove a point.
And he justified his elevation to the senior team with a compact 76 off 97 balls, the highest individual score in the game. He was impressive with his compact style of batting, preferring to play in the V. His clean hitting was even more impressive. Besides, the way he handled the Afghan leg-spinners including Rashid Khan Arman, spoke of his watertight defence. He struck five fours and three sixes and each, expect for an attempted cut that raced past the keeper and the first slip, were examples of sheer timing rather than power-hitting.
He might not have carried his bat for the lost cause and his dismissal was quite anticlimactic -- he dragged an attempted late cut onto his stump off Mohammad Nabi -- but he showed that he has got that firepower to prosper if thrown in at the deep end.
His Ahabani captain and national opener Tamim Iqbal was quite right to say that he has got the head of a 45-year-old on very young shoulders. He was unfazed when wickets tumbled around him in an unsuccessful chase at Fatullah. He was focused on playing his own game and when he came out to speak to reporters after the match he looked very cool.
"When we go out in the middle we go out to win a match. And at the end of the day if you lose a match you don't feel good. I have played a good knock but that would have been something to celebrate if we had won," Mosaddek told reporters.
"When I went out there my first concern was to read the wicket. It was a bit difficult wicket, the ball kept a bit low and it was also turning a bit.
"Obviously when you are included in the national team you feel more confident. It was my job to prove my selection is justified. I tried to stay at the wicket till the end but unfortunately I could not do that," he said.
He was quite spot on when asked what positives he was taking on from the game.
"I have played against them and I have faced all their bowlers. So, it will be no different if I get the opportunity to play against them again," said the promising batsman known for playing long innings as two consecutive double-centuries in first-class cricket would suggest.
He also added that he would share his insight if asked by the senior team members, especially about the three spinners in the Afghan team.
"I think Rashid is very good among the three Afghanistan bowlers. He bowls a very good line and on good spots. He has also got variation," Mosaddek observed.
Regarding his ambition with the national team, where he might make his debut on Sunday, Mosaddek said that he was ready to bat at any position according to the demand of the team.
"I normally bat at number four or five. I have also batted at six last season but I'm ready to bat deep down the order if the team demands that from me," added the right-hander.
Comments