Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim and his deputy Mahmudullah have taken the long overdue steps from being occasional match-winners to players who can regularly do so. Their performance in the 3-2 victory in the ODI series against West Indies has been the biggest gain for Bangladesh in the last four weeks of international cricket. In the deciding match in Mirpur, Bangladesh had stumbled to 30 for 3 in pursuit of 217, when Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah counterattacked and put on 91 runs. They only made 40s, but their contributions prevented a susceptible line-up from collapsing. What made their contributions in this series stand out was the absence of Shakib Al Hasan, who was injured for the ODIs. Normally, Shakib does it all, and that has been the case in Bangladesh’s few series wins in the last few years. When they beat a second-string West Indies in 2009, Shakib played the lead with Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah in supporting roles. Against New Zealand in 2010, Shakib did it by himself, scoring hundreds, taking wickets and leading the side as Bangladesh won 4-0. Shakib was also a significant contributor to Bangladesh’s Asia Cup victory in March, but over the last two years Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah have also been match-winners, mostly finishing tense chases. They had the leadership roles on paper but hadn’t been performing them on the field. Now Mushfiqur, the more talkative of the two, has asserted himself as a captain by leading from the front in difficult times. Mahmudullah’s reticent nature, however, was taken as reclusive, even soft at times.
Bangladesh’s leaders set an example
