Today at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, Bangladesh witnessed a historic moment in its cricket history as Mushfiqur Rahim played his 100th Test match. The entire stadium, the gallery, and even the dressing room were filled with excitement, as special ceremonies were held in his honor. However, as Mushfiq was just one run away from a century, some unusual incidents occurred that may have led to him missing out on the milestone.
On the first day of the second Test, Mushfiq needed just one run to complete his century. But in the final over, something strange happened. Ireland’s fielding coach, Chris Brown, began rearranging the field setup and took several minutes, seemingly wasting time. This delay meant that the opportunity for an extra over was lost, and Mushfiq was denied his century.
Bangladesh’s Test captain Mominul Haque, speaking in a press conference, explained that they had hoped to get an extra over to help Mushfiq reach the century. He said, “We were trying to play one more over as two of our batsmen were close to milestones. Of course, anyone would want that extra over. They were being quite slow.”
However, Ireland’s spin coach Chris Brown dismissed the idea that it was intentional, saying, “We were just thinking about different field setups. It wasn’t intentional at all.”
Despite missing his century, Mushfiq finished the day unbeaten on 99, and Mominul remained calm about the situation. “Mushfiq has experience scoring centuries and double centuries, so he doesn’t panic when he’s in the 90s. We know that he will find a way to get the runs,” said Mominul.
The celebration around Mushfiq’s 100th Test has set a new precedent for Bangladesh cricket. Mominul also commented, “Such celebrations will inspire the younger generation to be more interested in Test cricket, and hopefully, they will also be inspired to play 100 Tests.”
At the end of the first day’s play, Bangladesh finished with 292 runs for 4 wickets, with Mushfiq still unbeaten on 99.