Dubai Capitals captain Mohammad Nabi said the team missed Mustafizur Rahman badly in the Eliminator against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and felt the result could have changed if the left arm pacer was available.
Mustafizur did not play the full ILT20 season for Dubai Capitals in the UAE. He was in good form but returned home midway to take part in the Bangladesh Premier League.
Dubai Capitals sealed their place in the playoffs after beating Sharjah Warriors on December 24. Soon after that match, Mustafizur left for Bangladesh. Without him, Dubai Capitals lost one league game by eight wickets to MI Emirates.
Their campaign ended at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday night. Dubai Capitals went down by 50 runs to Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the Eliminator.
After the match, Nabi said, “Mustafizur was an important cricketer and he was a wicket-taker. We missed him a lot. If he was there, he could have controlled runs in the death overs and taken wickets as well.”
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders won the toss and chose to bat first. They were 146 for 6 after 19 overs. In the final over, they scored 12 runs off left arm pacer David Willey, who also took a wicket. Abu Dhabi finished on 158 for 7 in 20 overs.
Dubai Capitals could not build any resistance in the chase. In a do or die match, they were bowled out for 108 in 16.2 overs.
After the heavy defeat, Nabi again pointed to Mustafizur’s absence and felt his impact was missing in key moments.
Mustafizur had a strong ILT20 season. He took 15 wickets in eight matches at an economy rate of 8.08. Abu Dhabi Knight Riders all rounder Jason Holder and Desert Vipers bowler Khuzaima Tanveer also have 15 wickets each.
Numbers alone do not tell Mustafizur’s full story. On December 21 against Gulf Giants, he took 3 wickets for 34 runs in four overs and won the Player of the Match award.
In that game, he dismissed James Vince, Azmatullah Omarzai and Sean Dixon in the 14th over. In the final over of the innings, he gave away only four runs. Although he did not take a wicket then, three Abu Dhabi batters were run out.
Better fielding from Dubai Capitals could have brought Mustafizur more wickets. Had he played the Eliminator, he might have kept Abu Dhabi Knight Riders to a lower total and picked up key wickets. But the batters also needed to step up.
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders will face MI Emirates in the second Qualifier. Shakib Al Hasan has played for MI Emirates in this year’s ILT20.
