Dar's untroubled return, Mushfiqur's refined slog

Aleem Dar was umpiring in a Bangladesh match for the first time since he was embroiled in controversy in the team's World Cup quarter-final against India on March 19. Effigies were burned of the umpire while the ICC president at the time, AHM Mustafa Kamal, made some humiliating comments about Dar. But this game, his 53rd involving Bangladesh, went off without a hitch and there was no visible animosity towards him from the crowd.

Mushfiqur Rahim usually plays the slog-sweep by bending down on one knee and flat-batting it over the midwicket boundary. He is not known to play it squarer but today he added a new angle to his slog-sweep: he came down the wicket to Sikandar Raza and spun his wrist over the ball, to have it skim past the long-on fielder for his first four in 12 overs. The shot stood out from his usual approach due to its slickness and how it reduced the risk in what is still, basically, a slog.

Mushfiqur was on 39 when he tried to blast Graeme Cremer over extra cover. But the legspinner did well to deceive him in the flight, catching the outside half of the bat as it fountained towards the cover sweeper. Taurai Muzarabani initially ran in hard to take the catch but inexplicably pulled out at the very last moment. He signalled that the sun was in his eyes but the bowler didn't really think it was a good enough reason to stop. The crowd behind him, it seemed, was also slightly disappointed with his efforts.

Luke Jongwe was sent in to open the batting for the first time in his international career, after Richmond Mutumbami injured his right ankle in the 31st over while keeping wicket. The replacement opener took until the fourth over to open up when he unleashed a reverse-hit on Arafat Sunny, who had actually tried to nail him on middle stump. The shot came out of nowhere, as it sped over the point fielder for his first boundary of the Zimbabwe innings.

Liton Das and Nasir Hossain nearly came to collision while trying to take the skier offered by Chamu Chibhabha in the tenth over. The batsman charged Shakib Al Hasan but the ball looped up towards long-off from where Liton charged in, and Nasir ran back from deep mid-on. The two came close as the ball fell to Liton but they still brushed against each other. The collision wasn't hard enough to knock the ball out of Liton's grasp but he did take a bit of time to get up from the ground. There was hardly much celebration from him or Nasir.