Shakib’s eyes lit up as the ball thrown by Tamim flew toward the stumps at the wicketkeeper’s end. Milliseconds later his face filled with anguish as soon as Mushfiqur Rahim caught the ball and took off the bells himself.
That was a pivotal moment of the game. New Zealand were two wickets down. Martin Guptill who was looking dangerous had been sent off by Shakib. Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson were on the crease.
Ross Taylor’s batting average since Champions Trophy 2017 is more than 100. The only batsman with a higher average during this timeline is Virat Kohli. Ross Taylor could easily take the match away from Bangladesh. There were not enough runs on the board. Ross Taylor’s wicket was essential. Bangladesh could afford to make few mistakes. They ended up making a few major mistakes which cost them the match. The failed runout attempt was one of them. Tamim came running to the pitch to tell Mushfiq that the ball would go on to hit the stumps straight had Mushfiq not meddled with it. Mushfiqur Rahman is a sentimental person. His body language showed he was greatly bothered by the missed opportunity. Similar to few other occasions where Mushfiq had missed an easy catch but went on to compensate by doing something awe-inspiring behind the stumps, he did jump and take the catch of Grandhomme but the redemption came too late.
Bangladesh was sent to bat by New Zealand at The Oval in London. Bangladesh were 45–0 when Athar Ali Khan implied that Williamson may have made a wrong decision by opting to bowl first. That’s when Henry’s ball hit Soumya’s stumps and the fall of wickets commenced. Tamim fell to a short ball. Fans and the team were looking up to Shakib and Mushfiq to rebuild the innings. These two had built a 142-run partnership, Bangladesh’s highest run partnership in a World Cup in the last match. Hence begins another tale of run out blunders. This one was successful however. Mushfiqur Rahim was sent back to the pavilion. Wickets fell on regular intervals after that. Shakib shined with his batting again. He scored 64. New Zealand capitalized on Shakib’s tendency to hit through point to get him out.
New Zealand’s bowling was top notch and the fielding clinical. They may have saved 40–50 runs with their robust fitness and athleticism. Williamson had done a good homework on the placement of his fielders. Henry picked up 4 wickets and Santner troubled the batsman who are usually good at playing spin.
244 might not have seemed like a competitive total but Bangladesh made it one. Shakib dismissed both openers. At one point, the score predictor showed 95% chance of winning for New Zealand till Mehedy dismissed Williamson and Bangladesh’s hopes came alive again. Soon after, Latham went for a duck. The most coveted wicket of Ross Taylor was picked up by Mosaddek.
There was another run out attempt by substitute fielder Sabbir Rahman. The boys in green were so sure about the runout, they ran to celebrate but the review showed it was off by an inch. No partnership sustained long after this. Bangladesh put up an inspiring fight. One could sense the tension in the Kiwi dressing room when wickets kept falling. Nasser Hussain tweeted ‘You don’t have to score 380 in and ODI to make it interesting… 244 will do.’ The absence of fielders in the slip cost Bangladesh several runs and a couple of wickets. Bangladesh did not have enough runs on the board which ultimately resulted in a 2-wicket defeat.
