On the inaugural day in Dhaka, fifteen wickets fell, but none came close to Mushfiqur Rahim’s dismissal, which marked the historic event of a Bangladeshi batsman being dismissed for ‘obstructing the field’ in Test cricket.
Former Bangladesh captain and television commentator Tamim Iqbal appeared startled by Mushfiqur’s dismissal, which belied his experience.
“A cricketer who has played over 80 Tests should know he can’t do that,” Tamim said on air on Wednesday. “Practice habit can make this happen. In the nets, batters often take the ball in hand and return it back to the bowler. Maybe Mushfiqur did it unconsciously and extended his hands. But this obviously can’t be an excuse.”
Certainly, Mushfiqur’s dismissal functions as a diversion on a day when the majority of Bangladeshi batsmen executed subpar strokes. They appeared to be recovering after losing three early wickets, but their situation deteriorated further with Mushfiqur’s dismissal in the 41st over. Jamieson’s delivery was defended, and Mushfiqur used his right hand to strike the ball away. Television arbiter Ahsan Raza dismissed him promptly after New Zealand lodged an appeal.
“Yeah, it’s probably not a great option, because he was looking so good. I mean it was handy for us in terms of the time he and Shahadat applied themselves and that was a very good partnership for them,” Santner said.
Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan, however, was not ready to put the blame on the senior campaigner.
“Look this one was not intentional, it just happened with the flow. Nobody wants to get out knowingly,” said Mehidy. “There is lot of things going around at the back of the mind during different situations in a game.
“In the World Cup, we got a timed-out dismissal against a Sri Lankan batter in our favour but today what happened with Mushfiq bhai, it all happened in a flow. When I am batting after playing a shot and when the ball is coming near the stumps, you have to make quick decisions about what you can do and what you can’t. Certainly he didn’t do that intentionally.”
Irrespective of the manner in which he was dismissed, Mushfiqur emerged as the preeminent batsman of the day, manifesting dominance and mastery on a pitch that favored slower bowlers. Moreover, he did so despite experiencing pain in the calf muscle of his left leg, which had been struck in that area. He eventually began to limp, and his facial expressions indicated that he was struggling to bat in the middle innings.
In the past, such dismissals were classified as “handled the ball”; however, a 2017 legislation change reclassified them as “obstructing the field.”
As per Law 37.1.2, “A striker obstructs the field when, except in the circumstances specified in 37.2, he or she intentionally strikes the ball with a hand not holding the bat while receiving a delivery from the bowler.” Whether it is the initial strike, a second strike, or a subsequent strike, this will hold true. “In order to defend his or her wicket, the act of receiving the ball shall encompass both playing at the ball and striking it more than once.”
