"He didn't do that intentionally" - Mehidy Hasan defends Mushfiqur Rahim amid 'handling the ball' row in BAN vs NZ 2nd Test

Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz defended veteran keeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim after the latter suffered a rare 'handling the ball' dismissal on day 1 of the second Test against New Zealand. The spin-bowling all-rounder underlined that things happened in the flow and that it wasn't deliberate.

The contentious dismissal of Rahim occurred in the 41st over of the innings as the right-hander tried to catch the ball with his hand after defending the ball. As a result, the umpire ruled him out for 'obstructing the field'. A clip also surfaced of the veteran batter doing the same before his dismissal.

At the post-match press conference, Mehidy reflected how Bangladesh were on the wrong side of luck. The 26-year-old said, as quoted by Cricbuzz:

"Look this one was not intentional, it just happened with the flow. Nobody wants to get out knowingly. There are lot of things going around at the back of the mind during different situations in a game.

"In the World Cup, we got a timed-out dismissal against a Sri Lankan batter in our favour but today what happened with Mushfiq bhai, it all happened in a flow."

He added:

"When I am batting after playing a shot and when the ball is coming near the stumps, have to make quick decisions about what you can do and what you can't. Certainly, he didn't do that intentionally."

Former England captain Michael Vaughan welcomed Rahim to the club, having been a victim of it during his career.

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Mehidy Hasan picks up 3 wickets as New Zealand crumble after bowling Bangladesh out

Mehidy Hasan celebrates a wicket. (Credits: Twitter)

Bangladesh fought back exceptionally well after managing only 172 on the opening day of the second Test. In response, the Kiwis slipped to 55-5 as the off-spinner took figures of 6-1-17-3, including dismissing ace batter Kane Williamson.

Taijul Islam picked up the remaining two wickets. The Tigers lead the series, having won the 1st Test by 150 runs and are in good position to win the second as they eye a series win.