On the spin-friendly Mirpur track, batters from both Bangladesh and the West Indies struggled against sharp turn and uneven bounce. Yet one batter stood out, Rishad Hossain. In the first two matches of the series, he played some remarkable shots: 26* off 13 balls in the first match and 39* off 14 in the second. Despite that, he wasn’t sent to bat in the Super Over against the West Indies on Tuesday.
Chasing a target of 214, the West Indies also scored 213 runs, forcing the match into a tie. In the Super Over, West Indies set a target of 12 runs, but Bangladesh managed only 9, losing the match by just 1 run. Interestingly, Bangladesh had already received 5 runs from extras, yet failed to cross the line. The batters chosen for the Super Over were Saif Hassan, Soumya Sarkar, and Najmul Hossain Shanto the latter not even in good form.
This raised questions about why a power-hitter like Rishad wasn’t sent out. Even Akeal Hosein, the spinner who bowled the Super Over for West Indies, expressed surprise at not seeing Rishad come out to bat.
When asked about it in the post-match press conference, Akeal admitted he was indeed surprised. “Yes, I was a bit surprised,” he said after defending 11 runs in the Super Over to level the series 1-1.
“I mean, the guy who caused the most damage in the match, scoring an unbeaten 39 off about 14 deliveries, wasn’t in your Super Over. He hit two sixes to the short side of the ground. We were all a bit surprised that he didn’t come out at all, but in the end, it worked in our favor. He was one of the few guys with real power, and he had that reach because he’s quite a tall guy,” he explained.
He also shared his previous Super Over experience. “Yes, I have been in a situation like this before. It was an Eliminator in The Hundred, and it started off quite similar. I bowled a no-ball, which counts as two in The Hundred, and I had to defend around nine runs. One ball went for six, and then they needed two off four balls,” he said.
“And I remember Chris Jordan coming up to me and saying, ‘Don’t worry, you got this.’ I told myself, ‘If he can believe that I have this, with two runs needed and Liam Livingstone, a world-class hitter, on strike with four balls left, why can’t I believe?’ So yes, I’ve been in a situation like this before, and thankfully, I got over the line and won the game for my team.
As for being out of the ODI team, that’s something I can’t control. For me, it’s about enjoying the game, performing at my best, and leaving the rest to everyone else,” he added.
