IPL 2016: Sunrisers Hyderabad sweating on Mustafizur Rahman's availability for IPL final
Mustafizur Rahman has been one of the best T20 bowlers in the last 12 months or so. The 20-year-old pacer from Bangladesh has taken the Indian Premier League by storm in his first season and is one of the key members of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team.
However, the Fizz missed the second eliminator against Gujarat Lions at Delhi due to a sudden hamstring injury. The Sunrisers heavily missed his service in that match especially during the last half of the innings. The team management is quite tensed about his physical condition and whether he will in today’s all-important final or not.
The pacer’s brother has said that the injury is not very serious, but his team are still monitoring him till the last minute to see if they can play him.
In his absence, New Zealand pacer Trent Boult played the match against Gujarat. The Kiwi pacer started off well by picking up a wicket up front but conceded plenty of runs in the death overs and finished with figures of 1/39. Mustafizur’s presence makes it easier for the David Warner-led team to breath in the death overs.
Mustafizur might play if his condition improves
The team is closely watching the left-arm pacer and will take a call on him in the final minutes before the match. His elder brother talked about his injury and said it is not serious. He said, “I have talked to him about the injury; it seems that it is not that much serious. He might play if his condition improves within this time. The team will watch him out till the last moment in the all-important final match.”
Playing in his first ever IPL, the Satkhira-born cricketer picked up 16 wickets in 15 matches at an average of 24 and with a superb economy rate of 6.73. His control over his abilities makes him a very effective bowler. He is also mentally way ahead of his years as he plays with the mind of the batsman and sometimes forces them to make mistakes.
Mustafizur’s cutters are deadly and over the last three-four months, he has also developed a lethal yorker which makes him one of the toughest bowlers to hit during the death overs. His variations are also extremely effective in the shorter formats as he keeps varying pace all the time which more often than not deserves the batsmen.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s mighty batting line-up in today’s mega final where Mustafizur is surely a threat to the Virat Kohli-led side. Sunrisers have the best pace bowling attack in this year’s tournament in which the Bangladeshi youngster is a star attraction.