New Zealand capitalized on the slow and turning pitch at the Shere Bangla National Stadium during the second Test’s opening day, securing four wickets in the initial session. The decision to field Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel proved beneficial as the home team struggled at 47/4, facing the risk of leveling the series after their remarkable win in the first Test.
Yet, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shahadat Hossain’s resilient partnership offered hope, guiding the team past Lunch without further setbacks and crossing the 50-run milestone in their alliance. However, just when the team seemed to navigate through a challenging phase, Rahim unexpectedly gifted the Kiwis an advantage.
Facing the towering Kyle Jamieson in the 41st over, Rahim defended a short-of-length delivery with a soft-handed stroke that caused the ball to bounce beneath the bat and spin backward behind the crease. Though the ball posed no threat to the stumps, Rahim instinctively used his palm to divert it away from the pitch, leading to a fervent appeal from the Black Caps.
The decision was referred upstairs, resulting in the third umpire ruling against Rahim. This made him the first batsman, since Michael Vaughan against India in 2001, to be dismissed handling the ball in Tests, albeit since 2017, the rule has been combined with the obstructing the field mode of dismissal.
Did Mushfiqur Rahim really need to do that? He's been given out for obstructing the field! This one will be talked about for a while…
— FanCode (@FanCode) December 6, 2023
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Interestingly, Rahim had attempted a similar move against Tim Southee right after Lunch, but he couldn’t reach the ball in time, much to his relief. The incident sparked various reactions on social media platforms, with Twitterati swiftly expressing their thoughts on this rare occurrence.
