Bangladesh pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman took the Natwest T20
Blast by storm as he picked up a man-of-the-match award on his debut for
Sussex Sharks against Essex Eagles at Chelmsford on July 21.
Mustafizur’s four-wicket haul was instrumental in Sussex emerging
victorious by 24 runs and therefore staying alive in the tournament.
They were placed sixth in the nine-team South division before the match
and facing relegation, but the strong performance elevated them to
number four in the table and in line for a quarterfinal place.
A strong batting display topped by a 21-ball 45 from all-rounder
Chris Jordan carried Sussex to 200 for six after they were asked to bat
by Essex skipper Ravi Bopara. Mustafizur bowled just one over in the
Powerplay overs, and it was left to the other bowlers to stave off the
Essex charge till the death overs, when they would hand it over to the
death-overs specialist.
It is a measure of the respect that Sussex have for Mustafizur’s
talent that skipper Luke Wright left three of the last five overs for
him. That included the last over, which for a 20-year-old with very
little experience of English conditions and presumably some jet lag was a
huge show of faith that he repaid with interest. Mustafizur had earlier
shown, by taking the catch of opener Nick Browne off Tymal Mills, that
he was ready to perform.
The stage was set perfectly for Mustafizur. The opposition needed 68
off the last five overs with six wickets in hand. There was no choice
for England discard Bopara, batting on a 25-ball 32, but to attack. And
for Mustafizur, who had just completed a long flight to get to England a
day ago on Wednesday, that was the signal to pounce.
It was a classic Mustafizur wicket as Bopara tried to play across the
line only to sky a steep edge that was gleefully accepted by Wright in
the infield. Wright knew that the challenge was all but snuffed out.
Mustafizur’s first over had gone for just four runs, but the death
overs of a T20 game is where he excels, and excel he did. Ryan ten
Doeschate did manage to hit a straight six off a length delivery in the
first ball of Mustafizur’s next over, but the single he took off the
next ball opened the floodgates. Former England wicketkeeper James
Foster shuffled across but was bowled around his legs in a dismissal
reminiscent of the Fizz’s castling of Australian captain Steven Smith in
the World Twenty20 earlier this year.
Callum Taylor stepped away to hit his first ball through the off
side, but Mustafizur darted it in outside off stump to beat the
right-hander with a quick ball. The next delivery was a classic
off-cutter that moved across Taylor and bowled him as he tried to turn
it to the leg side.
With three wickets for just 13 runs in three overs, the Fizz may have
been eyeing his best T20 figures. That seemed even closer when he set up
ten Doeschate brilliantly in the first two balls of the last over,
which started with Essex needing an improbable 35. The first ball was a
very quick delivery that beat ten Doeschate for pace, and the next one
was a slower outside leg that the Dutch big hitter could only scoop to
short fine leg. After 3.2 overs, the Tetulia terror had taken four for
13. A no-ball single to new batsman Graham Napier was followed by
another single as Paul Walter failed to take advantage of the free hit,
but Napier spoiled Fizz’s figures somewhat by hitting a six that just
eluded long-off’s hands.
But that did not matter much as Mustafizur rounded off the innings
with two more dot balls and fabulous figures of four for 23 in four
overs, perhaps leaving the Sussex management wondering about what could
have been had the Bangladeshi arrived earlier.
Scores in brief
Sussex Sharks: 200 for 6 (Jordan 45 not out, Salt 33, Wright 32, Nash 25; Bopara 2-32, Lawrence 1-10)
Essex Eagles: 176 for 8 (Lawrence 36, Bopara 32, ten Doeschate 26; Mustafizur 4-23, Mills 1-36, Archer 1-39)
Result: Sussex Sharks won by 24 runs
Player-of-the-match: Mustafizur Rahman
