SPORTS REPORTER

It was a rather unusual yet a vital knock from Mahmudullah Riyad as the experienced cricketer played an unbeaten 80 off 84 balls to guide Bangladesh in posting a fighting total of 290 for nine against Zimbabwe in the second and series-saving ODI in Harare yesterday.

Mahmudullah had been on the receiving end of a sustained spell of tremendous pressure, both on and off the field, having repeated dismal outings with the bat and the lack of confidence was visible when Mahmudullah walked out to bat in the 24th over of the innings, with the visitors in a spot of bother at 127 for three.

The 36-year-old struggled to time the ball properly and his defensive approach started to frustrate the Tigers as the seasoned campaigner was batting at a strike-rate of less than 50 in the first 50 deliveries he faced, with Bangladesh eyeing a big total.

It was a contrasting knock from Mahmudullah compared to his younger partner Afif Hossain since the left-hander showed a greater urgency to score quickly in the middle overs as the pair added 81 runs for the fifth-wicket stand.

“Initially it was a defensive approach from Mahmudullah, where I think it was because of the initial lack of confidence in his innings,” prominent coach Nazmul Abedeen Fahim told The Daily Star.

“I think he lacked the courage to take the risk, but he eventually gained it later as his innings progressed. If he could have done that a bit early, Bangladesh could have gone on to add 20-30 more runs,” Fahim continued.

“I think it is also down to the mentality from the senior players like Mahmudullah, or even Shakib, as it was not easy for them when they started their career as their job was to take the side to a certain position rather than going for the finish. But the likes of Afif can do that and at one point it did seem that Mahmudullah was playing slowly compared to Afif because of that mindset.”

However, Mahmudullah made his experience count and started to come out of the shell later in his innings, striking a half-century off 69 balls -- his first fifty after 11 innings in the 50-over format. And despite losing partners from the other end, the stalwart of Bangladesh cricket made sure his side ended up posting a fighting total.

The right-hander gave all of his power behind the ball to strike the first six of his innings during the innings’ 47th, dispatching a Brad Evans delivery over the long-on region. He went on to strike two more sixes and reached a strike-rate of 95.23 as Bangladesh added 41 runs in the last four overs.

“I think his innings was a mixture of defensive approach and power cricket and it was a crucial knock for someone like Mahmudullah to gain confidence. It is important for Mahmudullah to play with an open mind as he has the ability to play good shots,” Fahim concluded.

There could be a debate over Mahmudullah’s batting approach despite scoring a team-high score to give the Tigers a platform to make a comeback in the series. However, it will be interesting to see whether yesterday’s knock helps the experienced cricketer to finally return to his groove in the coming days.