Australia get a taste of Nahid Rana
Published:
১০ জুন ২০২৬, ১১:২৭
Pace, aggression and bounce.
If those three qualities define Nahid Rana, then Australia experienced the full package yesterday, Tuesday.
He did not take five wickets. His figures read four for 41 from 10 overs. A glance through Nahid Rana’s 12-match One Day International (ODI) career will reveal two bowling performances that are statistically superior. The fast bowler has already claimed two five-wicket hauls.
Yet his four wickets in the first ODI against Australia may well rank among the most significant performances of his career.
Why?
Because the opposition was Australia.
Yes, Australia were without the likes of Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh. Even so, this was far from a second-string Australian side.
This was largely the same squad that recently featured in the ODI series against Pakistan. Many of these players had also represented Australia in the home ODI series against India last October.
Alex Carey, Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Matthew Short, Josh Inglis and Marnus Labuschagne were all part of that Australian setup. The bowling attack included Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa.
Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were not involved, but they have increasingly become selective about their schedules. Meanwhile, all-rounder Cameron Green returned to the side for the Bangladesh series.
To underestimate this Australian team would therefore have been a mistake.
Nahid Rana dismissed Australian captain Josh Inglis, who had scored fifties in each of his previous two ODIs. Before that, Inglis had been playing in the IPL (Indian Premier League), where he registered three half-centuries in five matches for Punjab Kings.
Nahid also removed Alex Carey, arguably the most accomplished batter in the side in terms of experience. He went on to dismiss debutant Liam Scott and pace bowler Xavier Bartlett as well.
The timing of those wickets made them even more valuable.
After Australia had slumped to two wickets for just two runs, Inglis and Connolly added 49 runs for the third wicket. Just as Inglis appeared settled, Nahid removed him for 19 with a delivery clocked at nearly 148 kilometres per hour.
Later, after Australia had lost four wickets for 91, Carey and Cameron Green rebuilt the innings with a 37-run partnership. Carey was progressing steadily towards a half-century when Nahid returned and dismissed him for 47 with another thunderbolt delivered at 146 kilometres per hour.
He then removed Scott and Bartlett with successive bouncers in consecutive overs. His three wickets in the second spell effectively decided the outcome of the match.
Nahid deserves additional credit because his day did not begin particularly well.
The pace was there from the outset, but his control was not. During his first spell of four overs, he conceded 21 runs. In his remaining six overs, he gave away only 20. Eleven of those runs came in the ninth over of his spell.
After a somewhat shaky start, Nahid demonstrated his ability to regroup, adapt and strike back — something Australia discovered first-hand.
His pace deserves special mention.
Apart from three slower deliveries in his final two overs, Nahid spent virtually the entire innings unleashing raw speed. Twice he breached the 150 km/h barrier. Each of his four wickets came from deliveries travelling at no less than 146 km/h.
Then there was the aggression.
His reaction after dismissing Inglis may have been unprecedented in Bangladesh’s cricket history. Watching a Bangladeshi fast bowler dismiss the Australian captain and charge towards him in celebration was a sight to savour.
Nahid unsettled the batters not only with his bowling but also with his body language and verbal intensity.
His barrage of bouncers posed a relentless challenge throughout the innings.
Spare a thought, too, for Litton Das.
As wicketkeeper, he had little respite. Whenever the batters failed to connect with Nahid’s fiery deliveries, those thunderbolts flew straight into his gloves.
Poor wicketkeeper!
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