On the opening day of the second Test against New Zealand in Dhaka on Wednesday, Bangladesh batsman Mushfiqur Rahim found himself out after handling the ball.
During the first day of the ongoing second Test against New Zealand, Bangladesh batter Mushfiqur Rahim found himself out in an unusual manner. He was given out for handling the ball while trying to prevent it from hitting the stumps off the bowling of Kyle Jamieson.
The incident occurred in the 41st over when Rahim defended against a rising delivery. The ball was heading towards the stumps, and in his attempt to keep it away, Rahim accidentally handled it. According to the rules, a batter is not allowed to touch the ball while batting, even though using the bat or leg to stop it is permitted. However, Rahim’s action prompted the New Zealand fielders to appeal for dismissal, and the umpires upheld the appeal as expected.
Rahim’s promising innings came to an end after scoring a respectable 35 runs off 83 balls, featuring three fours and a six. Interestingly, he had a close call handling the ball in the very first over of the second session. Unfortunately, his dismissal came at an inopportune moment for Bangladesh, breaking a steady 57-run partnership with Shahadat Hossain. This setback left Bangladesh struggling at 104/5, having chosen to bat first earlier in the day. Now, their hope rests on the remaining batsmen to put up a substantial total on the scoreboard.
Rahim became the eighth batter in Test cricket and the 11th overall in men’s cricket to be dismissed for handling the ball. Although initially considered one of the eleven ways a player could be out in cricket, handling the ball was later incorporated into the obstruction of the field rule during the revisions to the Laws of Cricket in 2017.
Bangladesh secured a commanding victory of 150 runs in the opening Test of the series and are now aiming to clinch the overall series triumph in the current match. Winning the toss was a positive start for them, but the visiting team has consistently taken wickets, preventing the hosts from posting a substantial score in the first innings.
