BBL 2018-19: Mujeeb Ur Rahman creates history in his debut game

The eighth season of the Big Bash League (BBL) got underway on Wednesday with a game between Adelaide Strikers and Brisbane Heat. The defending champions began their campaign with a victory as they gunned down the total of 147 runs in the last over. Alex Carey was the hero for them with the bat as he slammed an aggressive half-century. But Afghanistan’s teenage prodigy Mujeeb Ur Rahman was in the news despite losing his debut BBL game.

The off-spinner is playing in the T20 league for the first time and batting at number 11, he straightaway made a mark for his team. The Heat were struggling and in tatters at 101/9 in the 15th over itself. The Strikers were expecting to roll over the last pair and chase the meagre total easily. But that wasn’t the case. Mujeeb came out to bat with intent and played a reverse-sweep against his Afghanistan team-mate Rashid Khan.

He literally didn’t play like a number 11 batsmen and pressed his case forward for a promotion later in the tournament. The last wicket added 45 runs for the Heat in just 29 balls and Mujeeb Ur Rahman went on to score 27 runs off 22 balls with three fours to his name.

What is the record?

Mujeeb’s 27-run knock is the highest individual score for the number 11 player in the history of BBL. No other player had managed to score more than 15 in previous seven seasons and the Afghan cricketer didn’t it without much fuss. Also, his score was also the best for the number 11 in the history of the shortest format. His 45-run stand with Jimmy Pierson is also the highest ever for the 10th wicket in the tournament’s history.

Mujeeb though couldn’t do much with the ball. He went only for 26 runs in his four-over quota but couldn’t pick any wicket. However, one could say that he was unlucky as Jake Weatherald was dropped in the very first over and that, in a way, hurt the Heat in the context of the game.

[interaction id=”5c1a08ad5e0e5f4de40027dd”]

Get the latest Cricket News and updates, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.