A historic display of Bangladesh cricket team

Bangladesh's unbelievable victory over Sri Lanka at the Dubai International Stadium in UAE really stunned the cricket world. Bangladesh pulled off an impressive 137-run win over Asian rival Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup opener on September 15, capped by impressive performances from Mushfiqur Rahim, Mithun Ali, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and others.

It was an easy win in the end for Bangladesh as they restricted the Islanders to 124 in 35.2 overs. Earlier, Mushfiqur Rahim’s incredible 144 led Bangladesh to a competitive first innings score of 261 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. This was also Rahim’s highest ODI score. At one point Bangladesh were 1/2 in the first over and ended up with 261 in 49.3 overs. For Sri Lanka, Lasith Malinga bagged four wickets while Dhananjaya de Silva picked up two wickets. However, in reply, the Lankan batsmen struggled and lost wickets at regular intervals to ultimately fall short of the target.

Mushfiqur scored a career-best 144 off 150 balls with 11 boundaries and four sixes for his sixth ODI hundred as Bangladesh scored 261 all out in 49.3 overs after opting to bat. For his wonderful innings with the bat, Rahim was adjudged as the Man of the Match. Mushfiqur’s 144-run knock is the second-highest individual score by a Bangladesh batsman in ODI cricket, overtaking Shakib Al Hasan’s 134 not out in 2007 World Cup. Only Tamim Iqbal’s 154 against Zimbabwe in 2009 now remains on top.

Bad news for Bangladesh came right at the start of the tournament. Opener Tamim Iqbal was ruled out of Asia Cup after fracturing his left wrist. He remained not out for 2. The incident happened in the first over of this match. To speed up the team spirit, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza took the decision to send Tamim Iqbal out to bat even though the batsman was sitting with his fractured left wrist in a sling in Saturday's Asia Cup opener against Sri Lanka. It changed the complexion of the match as it allowed Mushfiqur Rahim to add 32 priceless runs, and Bangladesh ended up winning by 137 runs. Tamim's courage and patriotism were praised all over the world as he returned to the field with bat in his hand again. He was seen to bat with just one arm. It was just incredible!

Following the impressive 144-run knock by Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh bowlers delighted as they bowled Sri Lanka out for 124 runs in the chase of 262 to register a 137-run win in the opening match of the Asia Cup 2018 in Dubai on Saturday. Save the 131-run stand with Mohammed Mithun (63) for the third wicket, the former skipper didn't get any assistance from other Bangladesh batsmen as the wily Malinga showed that he is still a force to reckon with. Chasing 262 for a win, Sri Lanka suffered a batting collapse with none of their batsmen showing intent to stay at the crease as they were all out for 124 in 35.2 overs. This was Sri Lanka's lowest ODI total versus Bangladesh.

Mushfiqur and Tamim have set a standard of commitment and courage which we hope the coming generations of our cricketers would do everything to emulate.

Although the 261 score that was notched up eventually proved too much for the Sri Lankans, it was the psychological impact accrued from the performance of the never-say-die cricketer Mushfiqur and the courageous Tamim, who had risked permanent damage to his left arm for the sake of the green and red, which spiked up the team. We believe that the attitude displayed by Tamim and Mushfique had rubbed off on the rest of the team as the Bangladesh performance on the field showed when it was their turn to bowl. To book a team for a paltry 124 when the first four overs had cost more than six runs per over reflects that commitment.

There are a few instances in the history of cricket where injured batsmen defied pain for the sake of their team, and Tamim's performance must rate as one of the best. The Tigers, particularly Mashrafe, Mushfique and Tamim, deserve more than a pat on the back. And the team deserves our grateful thanks for doing the nation proud. Good wishes for Bangladesh cricket team.


risingbd/Dhaka/Sept 17, 2018/Ali Nowsher/AI