Bangladesh handed Afghanistan a 62-run loss when the two teams met at Southampton on June 24. Wicket-keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim played a superb knock of 83 off 87 deliveries to take the Tigers to a fighting total of 262-7 after their 50 overs. Minnows Afghanistan were all-out for 200 in 47 overs and extended their losing streak to 7 in this ongoing World Cup 2019.

Bangladesh veteran batsman Mahmudullah suffered a Grade 1 tear in his right calf muscle during the match at The Ageas Bowl. Three hours after the conclusion of Bangladesh vs Afghanistan encounter, Bangladesh’s technical director Khaled Mahmud Shujon revealed the status of Mahmudullah’s injury.

While talking to The Daily Star about right handed batsman’s injury, Mahmud said, “The scan results showed a Grade-1 tear on Riyad’s right calf. At the moment, that is all I can say as I have not spoken to the physio (Thihan Chandramohan) yet. I can tell you more about the recovery period in the morning after speaking to the physio.”

The right hander with 3947 international runs to his name, walked out to bat at No.6 and batted with Mushfiqur Rahim in their vital partnership of 53 which helped the Tigers to reach 262 in 50 overs.

Typically Grade-1 tears take 7 to 14 days to heal. Mahmudullah was seen having a heavy strapping on his right leg as he walked out to bat but whether he carried the injury into the match and aggravated it, or whether he sustained the injury while batting cannot be confirmed.

After a good win over Afghanistan, Mashrafe Mortaza and Co. are scheduled to take field against Team India at Edgbaston in Birmingham on July 2 and Pakistan at Lord’s in London on July 5. With both the matches being must win for Bangladesh in order to qualify for the semi-finals, it will be interesting to see how the team performs under pressure.

(With The Daily Star inputs)