
It might not have been the type of situation that youngster Mosaddek Hossain had probably envisaged when he went out to bat in his ODI debut for Bangladesh.
The 20-year old, who was picked in the playing XI in place of Imrul Kayes in the second ODI against Afghanistan, came to the middle when the Tigers were struggling on 138/6 in the 33rd over after being asked to bat first.
Mosaddek, the 119th ODI cricketer for the Tigers, walked in as the last recognised batsman for the home side. The situation demanded a mature knock in order for the home side to post a decent total on the board and he delivered accordingly.
He made a quiet start and tried to adjust at the wicket that was providing a lot of purchase to the spinners. But at the same time, the right-hander kept the scoreboard ticking along.
As Bangladesh's innings wore on, he was running short of partners at the other end but even that didn't stop him from smashing the bad balls to the fence.
Mosaddek added a valuable 43-run partnership with Rubel Hossain for the last wicket and solely took up the challenge of run-scoring, making sure not to expose the tail-ender that often.
The Mymensingh lad smashed a delightful scoop shot for a six off the bowling of paceman Naveen-ul-Haq in the 48th over and followed it up by another magnificent pull shot for a six off Dawlat Zadran in the very next over where he took 15 runs. The youngster's confidence was there for all to see.
Bangladesh soon went past the 200-run mark which at one stage seemed impossible.
But just when it appeared that the youngster was gearing to launch in the final over of their innings, Rubel was caught short of the crease and Mosaddek was denied a well-deserved fifty on debut.
He remained undefeated on a run-a-ball 45, featuring four fours and two sixes.
For those who followed him closely in the last couple of years, it was no surprise to see the cricketer in full flow, having witnessed his prolific run-scoring ways in the domestic circuit. He was calm and collective with the willow, a rare sign for a 20-year old rookie.
He had also shone in the lone practice match against the Afghans, scoring a fine 97-ball 76, featuring five fours and three sixes.
What's more, Mosaddek became the first Bangladesh bowler to pick up an ODI wicket in his very first delivery when he trapped the dangerous Hashmatullah Shahidi in front to bring the Tigers back into the game. He ended up with impressive bowling figures of 30/2 from his quota of 10 overs.
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