Not many in the cricket world would have even heard of Mustafizur Rahman. All that changed dramatically on Thursday night with the 19-year-old pacer picking a fifer on ODI debut to help Bangladesh script an epic 79-run win.
Even after being knocked out by Indian skipper MS Dhoni, the wiry Bangladesh pacer returned to action after medical treatment and showed his spirit to fight the mighty Indians. While trying to steal a quick single, Dhoni collided with Mustafizur much to the chagrin of the Bangladesh players and fans. It was a rather an unusual Dhoni act. The Indian captain soon paid the price with his wicket as India hurtled to a defeat.
Brought into the side for the first of three ODIs, Rahman proved his worth immediately by breaking the back of a famed batting order. This after the hosts in Mirpur had posted a respectable 307 runs on the board.
The pacer's first victim in his international career was a man who is the highest ODI scorer in the world. Rohit Sharma was well-set on 63 before failing to pick a cutter and offering a leading edge to captain Mashrafe Mortaza.The next success came two overs later - in the 23rd - when Ajinkya Rahane failed to read a slower delivery and surrendered on nine. There was then some resistance from Suresh Raina (40) but Rahman ensured it did not become overly threatening.He then dislodged Ravichandran Ashwin off the very next ball to leave Indian batting in tatters at 188/7.
With the writing on the wall, it was only a matter of time before Rahman removed Ravindra Jadeja - India's last man of batting repute, to complete a memorable debut. It was an effort where he was guilty of walking in the middle of the batsmen's running path. In the end though, it was Rahman who truly knocked the wind out of India.