The Controversial Dismissal of Mushfiqur Rahim: Obstructing the Field vs Handling the Ball in the Bangladesh vs New Zealand Match

Dismissed in the 41st over, after defending a delivery from Kyle Jamieson into the ground and swatting the ball away with his right hand, New Zealand appealed immediately and it was upheld by the TV umpire Ahsan Raza. While such dismissals were classified as “handled the ball” previously, a change in the laws in 2017 removed the “handled the ball” category and brought it under “obstructing the field” according to Law 37.1.2. Ball 40.4 wasn’t the first time Mushfiqur had attempted to touch the ball with his glove. The wicket eventually came against the run of play, after Mushfiqur and Shahadat Hossain had added 57 for the fifth wicket, steering Bangladesh from 47 for 4 to 104 for 5.