ICC Emerging Player of the Year 2016: Mustafizur Rahman's Top 5 spells this year

#1 22/5 vs New Zealand at Kolkata, 2016 ICC World Twenty20

Mustafizur Rahman’s 22/5 was the best bowling figures at the 2016 ICC World Twenty20

After losing three matches on the trot, Bangladesh were eliminated from the T20 World Cup and had nothing to play except for pride in their final game against a very strong New Zealand team who had already qualified for the semi-finals and were yet to be beaten in the tournament. The venue was Eden Gardens at Kolkata and New Zealand chose to bat first after winning the toss.

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson gave a steady start to the Kiwis with a couple of early boundaries. Just when the opening partnership was beginning to mature a little, Mustafizur Rahman was brought into the attack and in his very first over, bowled out Henry Nicholls who was making his T20I debut.

Rahman soon got the prized wicket of Kane Williamson in the 9^th over and wasn’t called in to bowl before the 18^th over when he got his third wicket of the match by dismissing Grant Elliott. In the final over, he bowled out Mitchell Santner and Nathan McCullum in the fourth and fifth deliveries respectively to become only the second Bangladesh bowler to take a five-wicket haul in T20Is after Elias Sunny in 2012.

He couldn’t complete a hat-trick as he was hit for a six by Mitchell McClenaghan in the final ball of the New Zealand innings.

Nevertheless, Rahman was the pick of the Bangladesh bowlers, taking five wickets for only 22 runs in his four overs and his consistent run-containing and wicket-taking restricted the Kiwis to a total of 145 for the loss of eight wickets on a batting-friendly turf.

However, the Bangladeshi batsmen never stood a chance against the New Zealand bowlers and the Kiwis skittled out Bangladesh for a paltry 70, thus entering the semi-finals of the tournament without a single defeat. Rahman’s spell of 22/5 eventually went on to become the best bowling figures of the tournament.