Photo: Collected
Mushfiqur Rahim faced an unusual dismissal during the ongoing Dhaka Test against New Zealand. After defending the ball, he pushed it with his gloves, leading the third umpire to rule him out.
For Bangladesh, Mushfiqur was the first batter to suffer such a dismissal in Tests.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the cricket law-maker, initially classified this as "Handling the Ball." However, in 2017, this law was merged with another called "Obstructing the Field."
Under the previous law (Law 33), a batter would be out if they handled the ball after facing a delivery, whether with one hand or both, and the bowler wouldn't get credit for the wicket. This law merged with Law 37.1.1 and 37.1.2.
Law 37.1.1 states: "Either batter is out Obstructing the field if, except in the circumstances of 37.2, and while the ball is in play, he/she willfully attempts to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action. See also Law 34 (Hit the ball twice)."
Law 37.1.2 states: "The striker is out Obstructing the field if, except in the circumstances of 37.2, in the act of receiving a ball delivered by the bowler, he/she willfully strikes the ball with a hand not holding the bat. This will apply whether it is the first strike or a second or subsequent strike. The act of receiving the ball shall extend both to playing at the ball and to striking the ball more than once in defence of his/her wicket."
This clarifies why Mushfiqur was given out during the 41st over of Bangladesh's innings in the Dhaka Test.
Bangladesh is facing challenges in the Dhaka Test, having lost four wickets in the first session, with Mushfiqur's unexpected dismissal marking their sixth wicket with only 123 runs on the board.
