Mahmudullah returns to full bowling grind ahead of India tour
Mahmudullah had faced a recurrence of an old shoulder injury during the first Test against New Zealand in Hamilton, when he dived on the field. Subsequent scans on his shoulder ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 revealed a Grade 3 tear, keeping him out of rolling his arm over at the 50-over event.
He subsequently bowled in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka following the tournament, as well as in the one-off Test against Afghanistan after that, but not at full intensity. That happened during the NCL, where he bowled 39 overs across two innings, and snared six wickets for 80 runs.
"I could not bowl for seven months because of my shoulder injury, so I tried to bowl some overs in the middle," Mahmudullah told reporters after the game ended on Sunday, 13 October. "I had a good bowling practice as I tried to bowl as many overs as possible because that was my target. My bowling always gives me some added confidence in my batting.
"We were told that we have to play two or three matches [at the NCL], and our coach [Russell Domingo] instructed us that way, so everybody was focused and everybody tried their level best.
"We have the India series coming up. It's a big series, and every national team player is trying to perform and get a chance in the squad."
Mahmudullah had a good outing all around, as he also scored 63 in the only innings that Dhaka batted in, which took them to 354 and the first-innings lead, in response to Chittagong’s 290.
He walked in at 66/2, when captain Marshall Ayub retired not out, and began by stringing together a half-century stand with Shamsur Rahman (55). Wickets tumbled once the partnership was broken, but he carried on, and added a further 47 with wicket-keeper Zabid Hossain, who top-scored with 85 at No.8, before becoming the sixth man to be dismissed, with the score on 186.
"I would have been happier if I could score a hundred," Mahmudullah said. "The bowlers were getting help on day two, or even on day three, and so I probably scored two or three runs in the opening 30 to 40-odd deliveries as I wanted to stay at the wicket and score when my opportunity comes."