What’s the story?
Bangladesh's over enthusiastic celebrations at times have found them at odds with opposition fans but the manner in which Mahmudullah celebrated his match-winning century against New Zealand was one which caused a lot of amusement.
After guiding the team along with Shakib Al Hasan to a famous win which ultimately sealed their progress to the semifinals of the Champions Trophy where they will face India on Thursday, Mahmudullah held out the back of his bat to the dressing room after the customary bow down in Mecca’s direction.
The 33-year-old has now come out and explained the reason behind the celebrations, stating that the gesture was aimed at his six-year-old son Raeid who had signed the back of the bat which he had used against the Black Caps.
“Before leaving for the UK when I was packing my kit my son scribbled something on one of my bats,” Mahmudullah said. “When I asked him what it was he said he was signing the bat for me.”
In case you didn’t know...
Despite looking in a precarious position at 33-4 chasing 266 to stay in the tournament, Bangladesh produced a spirited comeback thanks to a record partnership between Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah.
Both of them brought up fine centuries and while Shakib was dismissed on the brink of victory, Mahmudullah remained unbeaten at the end as the Tigers won the match with five wickets in hand and more than two overs to spare.
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The details
The victory meant that New Zealand were knocked out of the Champions Trophy without winning a single match while Bangladesh had to wait and watch as England and Australia faced off at Edgbaston.
Rain played spoilsport but England’s victory was never in doubt after the onslaught by skipper Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes and that meant Bangladesh sealed their progress to the knockout stages of a major ICC tournament for the first time in their history.
They impressed at the 2015 World Cup as well and Mahmudullah has been instrumental in their success on both occasions as all his three ODI centuries have been scored in these two tournaments.
We don’t know about the two ODI hundreds at the 2015 World Cup, but this century certainly had his son’s hand behind it, as it was the bat that he had chosen to scribble on with the very best wishes in mind that helped Mahmudullah score the match-winning hundred.
What’s next?
In contrast to the 31-year-old’s mellow celebrations, England’s victory over Australia sparked off wild celebrations in Bangladesh and also in England, where they have found huge backing from the immigrant population and the semi-final contest against India is surely going to be a hotly-contested one, both on and off the pitch.
The match will be played at Edgbaston on Thursday with the first semi-final between England and Pakistan being played at Cardiff on Wednesday.
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Author’s take
Mahmudullah has been the man for the big occasion for Bangladesh and he will be hoping that his son’s wishes work well against India as well. It is always nice to see this human element come into matches that are played on a grand stage and that it what ultimately makes the sport what it is.
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