In Chennai, New Zealand made the decision to field first against Bangladesh, posing a formidable challenge with the new ball. The Tigers’ top-order grappled with both scoring runs and defending, dwindling to 56/4 by the conclusion of the 12th over.
Yet, seasoned campaigners Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim formed a pivotal partnership, contributing 96 runs and rekindling hope of setting a competitive target. With the Tigers’ captain departing at a score of 152/5, the onus fell squarely on Rahim’s shoulders, only for a peculiar delivery to curtail his innings.
In the 36th over’s fifth delivery, Matt Henry unleashed a slower off-cutter aimed at the off-stump, which inexplicably maintained an unusually low trajectory. Mushfiqur Rahim, poised for a pull shot, misjudged the delivery by a significant margin and struggled to maintain his balance due to the startling lack of bounce.
The wicket-keeper batter remained on the pitch for a moment, grappling with frustration and disappointment, in what was a disheartening turn of events for an in-form batsman.
Reluctantly, Rahim eventually got up and trudged back to the pavilion, his demeanor reflecting the profound disappointment, while on Twitter, reactions poured in from all quarters, referring to this incident.