Bangladesh off-spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz and the West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer have been in the limelight since their teen-age years, but the former has ensured a complete domination over the latter recently.
Miraz took 15 wickets in the two-match Test series recently to help Bangladesh clinch the home series 2-0 against the Windies, but amid the big picture, there was another battle that he won against the opponent’s most fearsome batsman Hetmyer.
Miraz dismissed him all four times in that series, and continued his dominance as he bowled the southpaw for just six in the first game of the three-ODI series at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka Sunday.
Miraz’s length ball kept going into Hetmyer in angle as it kept low.
The left-handed batsman was cramped for room, and attempted to punch the ball on the back foot only to see the stumps rattled.
Shimron Hetmyer reacts after being dismissed Dhaka Tribune/Md Manik
Hetmyer was the most successful batsman in the Test series for the visitor, and was expected to carry his form from their last one-day series against India in October when he scored 259 in five matches, including a century and a 94-run knock.
But like the Test series, Miraz once again tamed him that may become pivotal for the host in maintaining their winning run.
The history between Miraz and Hetmyer started back in 2014 when both the teenagers played in the 2014 U-19 World Cup.
Although none of them got huge success in that tournament, the next tournament in Bangladesh in 2016 was a major point in their career.
Hetmyer led his side to the title and beat Miraz-led host in the semi-final, but the Bangladesh all-rounder made his name by getting the man-of-the-series award with all-round performance.
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Hetmyer continued his success against Bangladesh as he made 52 in a losing cause in their first ODI of the three-match series in the Caribbean in July before scoring a majestic 125 in the second innings to level the series.
But Miraz started to create a twist in the tale as he dismissed Hetmyer for 30 in the third ODI in the USA.
He not only helped his side win in that match, but seemed to find a way to nullify the most potent weapon of the opponent’s repertoire ever since.
“I have played against him many times. We played in two youth World Cups and now playing against each other in the national team. I know a lot of things about him, so it was easy for me to plan against him. That brought the success,” said Miraz after the end of the second and final Test in Dhaka recently.
Since that dismissal in the USA, Miraz has now got the better of Hetmyer on all six occasions in international matches, and the mental triumph of the off-spinner may become a key component of another success of the Tigers in their own den.
The Miraz-Hetmyer incident also recalled the duel between Windies opener Chris Gayle and off-spinner Sohag Gazi, which was one of the highlights of the West Indies' tour of Bangladesh in 2012.
Gazi had dismissed Gayle twice in the two-Test series and once in the ODI series, and Bangladesh won a rare ODI series against a higher-ranked side.
1ST ODI
WEST INDIES INNINGS R B
Powell c Rubel b Shakib 10 27
Hope c Miraz b Mashrafe 43 59
Bravo c Tamim b Mashrafe 19 51
Samuels c Liton b Rubel 25 48
Hetmyer b Miraz 6 13
Rovman c Liton b Mashrafe 14 25
Chase c Miraz b Mustafizur 32 38
Paul c Miraz b Mustafizur 36 28
Roach not out 5 8
Bishoo c & b Mustafizur 0 1
Thomas not out 0 2
Extras (lb 3, w2) 5
Total (50 overs) 195/9
Fall Of Wickets
1-29 (Powell), 2-65 (Bravo), 3-78 (Hope), 4-93 (Hetmyer), 5-119 (Rovman), 6-127(Samuels), 7-178 (Chase), 8-194 (Paul), 9-195 (Bishoo)
Bowling
Miraz 10-0-30-1, Shakib 10-0-36-1, Mustafizur 10-0-35-3, Mashrafe 10-0-30-3 (w1), Rubel 10-0-61-1 (w1)
BANGLADESH INNINGS R B
Tamim c Bishoo b Chase 12 24
Liton b Paul 41 57
Imrul b Thomas 4 2
Mushfiq not out 55 70
Shakib c Hope b Rovman 30 26
Soumya c Rovman b Chase 19 13
Mahmudullah not out 14 21
Extras (lb 6, nb 2, w 13) 21
Total (35.1 Overs) 196/5
Fall Of Wickets
1-37 (Tamim), 2-42 (Imrul), 3-89 (Liton), 4-146 (Shakib), 5-175 (Soumya)
Bowling
Roach 6-0-35-0, Chase 9-1-47-2, Thomas 5-0-34-1, Paul 8-0-37-1, Bishoo 6.1-0-30-0, Rovman 1-0-7-1
Bangladesh won by five wickets, lead series 1-0
MoM: Mashrafe bin Mortaza
