Chasing Pakistan’s 236 run, Bangladesh scored 234 runs losing eight wickets in the stipulated 50 overs.

A gloom descended on the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium after the delivery of the last ball Thursday night.

At the fag end of Bangladesh’s innings, Mashrafe gave the Tigers hope of winning the title scoring 18 runs off just 9 balls before giving a catch to Nasir Jamshed off a Saeed Ajmal delivery in the 48th over.

Earlier, Shakib Al Hasan, termed by many as ‘Mr Dependable’, hit a half-century and was on 68 runs of 72 balls before being bowled in the 44th over.

Opener Tamim Iqbal, who scored 64, 70 and 59 runs in the group-level matches against Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka respectively, scored 60 off 68 balls.

The other opener, Nazimuddin, scored 16 runs off 52 balls before returning to the pavilion in the 17th over.

As he hit the ball off Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan ran quite a fair distance and took a brilliant catch to ensure a jittery Nazimuddin’s exit.

The Bangladesh squad underwent another blow in the fifth ball of the next over when Jahurul Islam failed to pick up a doosra off Saeed Ajmal and gave a catch to Younis at the slip. He played 5 balls but failed to score any run.

Opener Tamim Iqbal went back in the 24th over giving a catch to Younis Khan off Umar Gul. His 60-run inning had eight boundaries.

Nasir Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan built a 89-run partnership, which broke in the 42nd over when Nasir fell.

Nasir went for a pull off a delivery from Umar Gul but could not hit it properly, ending up in giving a catch to Misbah. He scored 28 runs off 63 balls.

A major blow for the Tigers came in the 44th over when Shakib misjudged the line of a delivery off Aizaz Cheema. The ball hit the leg stump.

Shakib hit seven boundaries and an over boundary.

Earlier, Pakistan lost nine wickets in the stipulated 50 overs in the high-voltage match.

After the fall of Shahid Afridi, who sent the run rate up with some quick boundaries, a late burst by Sarfraz Ahmed made the score a fighting one. The Pakistan squad might thank Bangladesh seamer Shahadat Hossain for conceding 19 runs in the last over.

Tigers registered a great start removing opener Nasir Jamshed and experienced batsman Younis Khan within six overs to jolt the former world champions.

Experienced seamer Mashrafe Mortaza gave Bangladesh a flying start sending back Nasir Jamshed in the fifth over.

Jamshed tried to send a comparatively slower delivery but could not hit the ball the way he expected to and managed to give a catch to Mahmudullah in the cover. Jamshed scored 9 runs off 8 balls.

The second gift for the home side came from Nazmul Hossain, the man who destroyed Sri Lanka batting order with three top wickets in the previous match, in the sixth over.

The second ball of the over, which nipped in after pitching, hit Younis’ pad. And there were loud appeal from the bowler and his compatriots. And up goes the umpire’s finger. Out!

Younis scored just one 1 off 5 balls.

It was none other than the Pakistani skipper who had to follow Younis to the pavilion later. Pushing a delivery off seamer Shahadat Hossain, Misbah started to run and hesitated a bit before running again towards the non-striker’s end. And an excellent fielder, Nasir Hossain, picking up the ball, aimed successfully to dislodge the bails.

A big, confident appeal made the umpire signal for third umpire’s decision. And the digital scoreboard showed ‘OUT’ in red letters. A dejected Pak captain walked back scoring 13 runs off 23 balls.

It was quite long before the much-expected wicket of Mohammad Hafeez fell. Hafeez hit hard a ball off Abdur Razzak but failed to get desired elevation, ending up giving a catch to Nazmul Hossain in the 22nd over.

He scored 40 from 87 balls.

Then came another spinner, Shakib, and removed Hammad Azam in the

34th over. While trying to sweep, he saw to his dismay that the top edge landed on the bowler’s hands. A key man in rebuilding mission, Azam scored 30 off 37 balls.

Off-spinner Mahmudullah stroke in the 35th over to send back the other rebuilder, Umar Akmal, after he had scored 30. Wicketkeeper-skipper Mushfiqur Rahim took the catch.

Shakib hit again in the 42nd over to pick up a key wicket, Shahid Afridi. The pinch-hitter went for smashing the ball but ended up in miscuing it, giving catch to Nasir Hossain. He scored sour boundaries and an over-boundary in his 32-run inning off 22 balls.

Umar Gul, a seamer who has already established himself as a batsman, gave an easy catch to Shakib Al Hasan in the 45th over, bowled by Mashrafe, to return to pavilion scoring 4 runs off 6 balls.

Abdur Razzak clean bowled Saeed Ajmal in the last ball of the 46th over. He scored 4 runs off 7 balls.

The match began at 2:00pm Bangladesh time.

Earlier, winning the toss, Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim invited Pakistan to bat in quite an obvious decision expected from a side that has developed a confidence to chase.

Teams

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Nazimuddin, Jahurul Islam, Mushfiqur Rahim (Captain), Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain and Nazmul Hossain.

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain), Umar Akmal, Hammad Azam, Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal and Aizaz Cheema.

After the fall of Shahid Afridi, who sent the run rate up with some quick boundaries, a late burst by Sarfraz Ahmed made the score a fighting one. The Pakistan squad might thank Bangladesh seamer Shahadat Hossain for conceding 19 runs in the last over.

Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza and Abdur Razzak took two wickets each while Mahmudullah and Nazmul Hossain one wicket each. Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq was run out.

Tigers registered a great start removing opener Nasir Jamshed and experienced batsman Younis Khan within six overs to jolt the former world champions.

Experienced seamer Mashrafe Mortaza gave Bangladesh a flying start sending back Nasir Jamshed in the fifth over.

Jamshed tried to send a comparatively slower delivery but could not hit the ball the way he expected to and managed to give a catch to Mahmudullah in the cover. Jamshed scored 9 runs off 8 balls.

The second gift for the home side came from Nazmul Hossain, the man who destroyed Sri Lanka batting order with three top wickets in the previous match, in the sixth over.

The second ball of the over, which nipped in after pitching, hit Younis’ pad. And there were loud appeal from the bowler and his compatriots. And up goes the umpire’s finger. Out!

Younis could score just one 1 off 5 balls.

It was none other than the Pakistani skipper who had to follow Younis to the pavilion later. Pushing a delivery off seamer Shahadat Hossain, Misbah started to run and hesitated a bit before running again towards the non-striker’s end. And an excellent fielder, Nasir Hossain, picking up the ball, aimed successfully to dislodge the bails.

A big, confident appeal made the umpire signal for third umpire’s decision. And the digital scoreboard showed ‘OUT’ in red letters. A dejected Pak captain walked back scoring 13 runs off 23 balls.

It was quite long before the much-expected wicket of Mohammad Hafeez fell. Hafeez hit hard a ball off Abdur Razzak but failed to get desired elevation, ending up giving a catch to Nazmul Hossain in the 22nd over.

He scored 40 from 87 balls.

Then came another spinner, Shakib, and removed Hammad Azam in the

34th over. While trying to sweep, he saw to his dismay that the top edge landed on the bowler’s hands. A key man in rebuilding mission, Azam scored 30 off 37 balls.

Off-spinner Mahmudullah stroke in the 35th over to send back the other rebuilder, Umar Akmal, after he had scored 30. Wicketkeeper-skipper Mushfiqur Rahim took the catch.

Shakib hit again in the 42nd over to pick up a key wicket, Shahid Afridi. The pinch-hitter went for smashing the ball but ended up in miscuing it, giving catch to Nasir Hossain. He scored sour boundaries and an over-boundary in his 32-run inning off 22 balls.

Umar Gul, a seamer who has already established himself as a batsman, gave an easy catch to Shakib Al Hasan in the 45th over, bowled by Mashrafe, to return to pavilion scoring 4 runs off 6 balls.

Abdur Razzak clean bowled Saeed Ajmal in the last ball of the 46th over. He scored 4 runs off 7 balls.

The match began at 2:00pm Bangladesh time.

Earlier, winning the toss, Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim invited Pakistan to bat in quite an obvious decision expected from a side that has developed a confidence to chase.

Teams

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Nazimuddin, Jahurul Islam, Mushfiqur Rahim (Captain), Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain and Nazmul Hossain.

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain), Umar Akmal, Hammad Azam, Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal and Aizaz Cheema.

In beating Sri Lanka by five wickets, the country’s most talked-about group of sportsmen reached the Asia Cup final where they will meet Pakistan tomorrow.

It is the fruition of several years of toil, tremendous hardship in the last decade and exasperation with one-off performances. The packed house at the Tigers’ home of cricket, the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, was the scene of history and at times it seemed every Bangladeshi was at the ground. When Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal walked in to bat, it seemed they did so with every cricketer who ever played for the country; it wasn’t baggage, it was responsibility that they carried with them. The two world-class cricketers delivered at the right time, winning a place in history and putting themselves on a different pedestal.

At 10:56pm, Nasir Hossain hit the winning boundary off the first ball of the 37th over in a stiff chase where they were asked to chase 212 runs in 40 overs following a 105-minute rain break. Sri Lanka were bowled out in 49.5 overs for 232 after a superb bowling performance by Nazmul Hossain and Mashrafe Bin Mortaza.

The crowd went absolutely nuts as the ball passed mid-on and into the boundary; the players ran in, the music was on full volume. A little while later, the Tigers took a victory lap with three flags surrounding them. It was a scene that will stay on with those lucky enough to witness it.

The unbroken sixth wicket pair of Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah Riyad added 77 precious runs after Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, the real architects of this victory, both fell within the 24th over.

Tamim hammered 59 off 56 balls with the help of nine glorious boundaries, but his stay ended through a very good catch at point by Lahiru Thirimanne from off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake in the 20th over with the team on 116 for four. Five of his boundaries were through the leg-side while four came on the off-side. Some of his shots, the chipped drive over the bowler’s head, the straight drive through his partner Shakib’s legs at the other end, the flicks past mid-wicket’s right and left, all oozed class. He reached fifty off 46 balls with a stunning straight-drive. But unfortunately, he couldn’t latch on to the one life he got, a dropped catch by Senanayake.

Shakib too was excellent and once again delivered under duress. He cracked seven boundaries in his 46-ball 56 before becoming Senanayake’s second victim. The all-rounder added 76 with Tamim but played in his unique way, hammering boundaries, top-edging some and even mistiming a lot early in the innings. In the eleventh over, Shakib opened his proper repertoire with a cover drive and a cut but it was the 21st over, bowled by the young offie, that showed what Shakib was really made of. After chipping one softly but safely, between cover and extra-cover he saw one fall short of the bowler after managing only to get a leading-edge on another. He followed it up with a cut boundary, before being beaten but still finished the over by reaching his half-century off 43 balls with a chipped drive over extra-cover’s head.

Senanayake finished as the best bowler on show for the Lankans with 2-38 from eight overs but the pacemen were handled quite well by the Tigers’ batsmen who have showed rare consistency in attitude and performance in this tournament.

Earlier though, it was Nazmul who was the undoubted hero with the ball. Starting off with the wicket of Mahela Jayawardene with a beautiful in-ducker that came in just as much was required to sneak in between the Sri Lanka captain’s bat and pad, the 24-year-old was on fire. Kumar Sangakkara hammered a checked cover-drive into Nazimuddin’s lap to become Nazmul’s second while Dilshan dragged the ball to the stumps to make it 32 for three in the tenth over.

The man from Habiganj may have been the man with the wickets but it was Mashrafe Bin Mortaza who kept things under control throughout his three spells. He ended up with a wicket from his 9.5 overs, the wicket becoming the last ball of the Sri Lanka innings in the 50th over but it was his discipline that paid off. His performance with the ball so far has been a tribute to his rehabilitation efforts over the past eleven months.

Abdur Razzak continued to be steady, giving away only 40-off from ten overs but this time he took two wickets (both however down to luck), while Shakib and Shahadat Hossain were slightly expensive but still had their moments.

After the three quick losses, Chamara Kapugedera and Lahiru Thirimanne staged a fight-back of sorts by adding 88 runs for the fourth wicket. It was broken by the freak stumping of the left-hander Thirimanne by wicketkeeper Mushfiqur, who found out the Gary Player way of luck in sports (the more you practice, the luckier you get); his left pad helping him out with the ricochet that caught the batsman, who made 48 off 73 balls, out of the crease.

Kapugedera had another solid batsman at the other end as Upul Tharanga helped him add 49 runs for the fifth wicket. The right-hander struck his first fifty in almost two years, hammering 62 off 92 balls with the help of four boundaries; Shakib bringing an end to his stay with an excellent low catch at cover. The left-hander at the other end, Tharanga, took the side past the 200-run mark but couldn’t reach another half-century, falling two short. He struck five fours and a six in his 44-ball knock.

Tributes were flowing in even as the Tigers left the stadium after a remarkable effort. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was among the first to congratulate the team, having watched most of the Bangladesh innings at the stadium. According to her press secretary, the Prime Minister personally congratulated each member of the team and reiterated that the country was overjoyed at the victory. She also wished them luck for the final on Thursday.

For the capacity crowd who had packed into the stadium on a Friday, it was a case of double delight as they found them selves witness to the most rarest of milestones and then followed it up with the slightly less rare joy of a Bangladesh victory.

It was unfortunate for Sachin, but there were some whispered mentions that the great man’s surprisingly slow approach stopped the Indians posting a target of more than three hundred on a placid wicket. Tendulkar countered by saying that the wicket was slow and difficult to bat on, but there were no signs of the same as Tamim Iqbal, Jahurul Islam, Nasir Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan and most spectacularly captain Mushfiqur Rahim batted with aplomb to chase down India’s 289 with four balls to spare.

Vice-captain Mahmudullah Riyad played a beautiful cover drive against pacer Ashoke Dinda to ignite the celebrations in front of a full-house stadium but it was his captain Mushfiqur who led his team from the front during his 25-ball 46 that contained three fours and as many sixes after third umpire Sri Lankan Ruchira Palliyaguruge stunned the capacity crowd by sending Shakib Al Hasan back to the pavilion.

The TV replays were inconclusive and where the benefit of the doubt should have gone to the batsman, Shakib was perhaps unlucky to be given out. Many became nervous expecting another close defeat after losing against Pakistan but Mushfiqur showed real character to ensure the memorable victory.

The second wicket 113-run partnership between Tamim Iqbal (70 off 99 balls) and Jahurul Islam (53 off 68 balls) gave the foundation but the win looked unlikely with the increasing run rate of over eight runs per over. But Shakib again took charge to change the momentum.

The left-hander revived the hope smashing two fours and a six in the 37th over against Dinda and he not only rotated the strike with another hero Nasir Hossain, who continued his impressive run making 54 off 58 balls with five fours, but also punished the ordinary Indian attack.

And then it was the story of Mushfiqur who initiated the final blow smashing two sixes against Irfan Pathan to secure 19 runs in the 47th over leaving to score 16 runs from last two overs.

The little right-hander then punched pacer Praveen Kumar in the penultimate over hitiing one boundary from a no-ball and a six to secure 14 runs that almost completed the great victory.

But the first half of the day belonged deservedly to Tendulkar. It came as a great relief for the little master as the unprecedented landmark was achieved after 33 international innings without a hundred. It was Tendulkar’s first ODI hundred against Bangladesh and 49th ODI century to go with his 51 Test hundreds.

The Indian innings was built on Tendulkar’s hundred and two fifties from Virat Kohli (66) and Suresh Riana (51) but the master blaster took the all attention yesterday.

It was one of his slower hundreds, as he played 138 balls to reach the three digit mark and he looked subdued after achieving the rare feat as the hype began during last year’s World Cup, when two hundreds in the group stages put him on 99 international hundreds.

He however failed to get to three figures on India’s tour of England, the home series against West Indies and the tour of Australia, and has finally achieved the feat in Bangladesh.

The Bangladeshi fans were understandably partisan until the legend reached 99. But then they gave a standing ovation to the Little Master to show a great spirit towards the game.

In the end it was a fantastic day for cricket.

ZILLUR, HASINA, KHALEDA CONGRATULATE
President Mohammad Zillur Rahman, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Leader of the Opposition Begum Khaleda Zia congratulated the Bangladesh national cricket team on their victory over India in the Asia Cup yesterday.

In an instant reaction, Sheikh Hasina said: “It’s a new milestone for Bangladesh cricket as the Tigers defeated the team who are the current world champions.”

Prime minister’s special assistant (media) Mahabubul Hoque Shakil informed that Sheikh Hasina along with her sister Sheikh Rehana watched the match on TV at her Gono Bhaban residence. She later celebrated the victory by distributing sweets among officials and staff of Gono Bhaban.

Khaleda Zia congratulated the team and also thanked the coach and other officials of the team in her message.

The Tigers stumbled in their chase of Pakistan’s 262 as five top wickets fell when they were yet to cross halfway to their target of 263 runs in the opening match of the Asia Cup at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday.

Bangladesh scored 135 runs for five wickets in 28.4 overs.

Tamim went back for 64 runs in the third ball of the 29th over.

Mushfiqur Rahim’s fall came in the 23rd over. Mushfiqur tried to cut a quicker delivery off Afridi but misjudged and saw his off stump dislodged. He scored only 3 runs.

Earlier, a confident Jahurul Islam lost his temper to lose his wicket ultimately few overs after the departure of opener Nazimuddin.

The pair, Tamim Iqbal and Jahurul, was going well before the latter misjudged line of the ball and went back to the pavilion for 23 runs.

Jahurul bent low to sweep the ball, which went straight and hit the stumps.

Bangladesh lost opener Nazimuddin early as the Tigers chase Pakistan’s 262

Bangladesh scored 77 runs in 17 overs for one wicket.

Nazimuddin’s departure came in the 11th over. He was almost home after slashing hard the fifth delivery off Aizaz Cheema on the off. But Umar Gul at third man rushed to the boundary to grab the ball, sending back Nazimuddin for 30 runs off 33 balls.

It is Nazimuddin who pushed up the run rate after a slow start. He hit four boundaries and a sixer during his stay.

Earlier, Pakistan openers flashed a sign of a massive score which could not be the case finally as the middle and lower orders failed to follow up on the brilliant opening. The Tigers returned to the match in style as picking up sight wickets in quick succession.

Winning the tow, Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim invited Pakistan to bat first.

Seamer Shahadat Hossain turned the home crowd mad dismantling the top order with three wickets after Nasir Jamshed went back, run out. Wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim was prompt to dislodge the bails as Shakib Al Hasan threw the ball brilliantly.

Shakib followed up on Shahadat’s success, picking up two wickets. And then came Abdur Razzak, another spinner, to bowl the Pak captain Misbah-ul-Haq.

Frustrated seeing the Pakistani openers scoring in ease, the crowd at the Mirpur stadium thought it was going to be another pathetic defeat for the Tigers. And they had all the reasons to think this way as more than half of the stipulated 50 overs went without any success though bowlers tried all their tricks.

The breakthrough came in the 28th over.

As Hafeez played the fifth ball of the over, bowled by Razzak, Shakib Al Hasan sent a strong throw from the point region. Jamshed, who called for a single, could nto make it on time as Mushfiqur grabbed the ball and took down the bails. Jamshed returned to the pavilion for 54 off 64 balls. He hit five boundaries and one sixer during the 135-run partnership.

Former skipper Younis Khan, who joined Hafeez on the crease later, took his way back scoring 12 runs in five overs. As he tried to flick a Shahadat delivery to square, Khan saw Razzak gripping the ball at point.

Mohammad Hafeez fell Shahadat’s second prey in the 35th over. He went back scoring 89, the highest score by any Pakistani in the match.

To turn the crowd happier further, Shahadat removed Asad Shafiq in the 37th over. He could score only 4 runs.

Left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan stroke twice in the 40th over to remove Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi in the same over. As Akmal went for the slog-sweep in the third ball of the over, Razzak took the catch in the second attempt. Akmal scored 21.

Afridi could not hit the ball as strong as he anticipated. Shakib, in his follow through, tried to take the catch but managed to stop its landing in the first try, failed to catch in the second attempt and finally gripped it after it bounced off Misbah who was standing on the non-striking end.

Bangladesh’s next success came in the 42nd over when Razzak bowled Misbah clean, sending him back to pavilion for 8 runs.

Mashrafe Mortaza, who returned to Tigers squad after a long time, removed Umar Gul, a growing worry for Bangladesh, in 49th over with a legcutter. Gul scored 39 off 25 balls with five boundaries and a over boundary.

The second match between India and Sri Lanka will be held on March 13 followed by Pakistan Vs Sri Lanka on March 15, Bangladesh Vs India on March 16, India Vs Pakistan on March 18 and Bangladesh Vs Sri Lanka on March on March 20.

The final match of the tournament will take place on March 22.

This is the eleventh edition of the regional competition and has returned to the country after 12 years. Bangladesh hosted the tournament twice in 1988 and 2000 respectively.

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Nazimuddin, Jahurul Islam, Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam, Shahadat Hossain

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Aizaz Cheema.

The home side, despite changing the squad five times in as many matches and using a whopping 30 cricketers, prevailed 3-2 after winning two matches in Chittagong and the crucial fourth one-dayer by six wickets.

During the final game, the home side however suffered an early morning collapse which could have triggered a below-100 score but thanks to a staunch rearguard action from the tail, chiefly Noor Hossain, the match petered into a respectable affair.

Batting first after being put in, the A team’s top-order were blown to bits by Jack Brooks, the Northamptonshire paceman. The 27-year-old took care of the top three — Imrul Kayes, Nasiruddin Faruque and Junaed Siddiqui — by the eighth over of the innings. Soon, the score slipped to 75 for seven before Noor, who made 38 off 28 balls with three boundaries and a couple of sixes, added 55 for the eighth wicket with Forhad Reza, who contributed with 23 runs.

Apart from Brooks’s three, left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan and part-timer Joe Root picked up two each.

Forhad then picked up Root for a duck but there wasn’t a similar collapse by the visitors who had skipper James Taylor to thank. The diminutive right-hander struck four boundaries in his stabilising unbeaten 65 off 110 balls. He added 68 for the fourth wicket with Jonny Bairstow before completing the chase through a 30-run stand with Jos Buttler who struck a couple of sixes and a boundary in his 21-ball 27.

For the home side, Forhad, Mosharraf Hossain, Sohag Gazi and Noor Hossain took one each.

The first Twenty20 between the two sides will be held on January 22 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka.

SCORES IN BRIEF
BANGLADESH A: 152 all out in 44.1 overs (Noor 38, Forhad 23, Naeem 16; Brooks 3-35, Kerrigen 2-45, Root 2-10).

ENGLAND LIONS: 158-4 in 37.5 overs (Taylor 65 not out, Bairstow 33, Buttler 27 not out; Forhad 1-4, Mosharraf 1-26, Sohag 1-33, Noor 1-39).

Result: England Lions won by six wickets; Bangladesh A win 5-match series 3-2.

Mushfiqur was so assured with the last shot that he didn’t wait for the ball to sail into the gallery; he immediately raised his bat to the sky and was soon engulfed by his teammates, who sprinted on to the pitch to celebrate the moment along with the eruption of joy from the crowd.

In the record books, yesterday Bangladesh won a T20 International against West Indies by three wickets — their second success against the Caribbean side in the shortest version of the game and Mushfiqur played a match-winning unbeaten knock of 41 to chase down the tourists’ total of 132 with one ball in hand. But there were much bigger things than mere statistics, especially for Mushfiqur who began his journey as a captain in such a dramatic and fantastic way, that one can only call it the stuff of dreams.

Nothing could have been better for Mushfiqur after the way he led the team from the front in his first assignment as captain and the beauty of the match was the way it was finished by the little man. The lone T20 match of the series was full of drama, making it worth the while for fans who paid to watch, and in the end it was the new Bangladesh skipper who hogged the limelight after almost single-handedly delivering the victory with a well-calculated and perfectly-paced innings. It was only Bangladesh’s fourth success in 17 tries in cricket’s newest format.

In this match, Bangladesh’s bowlers were excellent in restricting the West Indies. The fielding was stupendous, fitting in well with the coach Stuart Law’s mantra of “smart” cricket. For West Indies, Marlon Samuels carried his form from the practice matches with a brisk fifty but the fans will definitely remember this match for Mushfiqur’s final act.

Requiring six runs from the last six balls, the captain himself was on strike but the tension was mounting among the fans when he failed to get a run from Ravi Rampaul’s first ball. Off the next he managed a single only to see Nasir Hossain, who brilliantly assisted his skipper before his moment of madness, losing his temper to offer a simple catch to the wicketkeeper. Thanks to Abdur Razzak, who managed a single off the first ball he faced, the strike was back with Mushfiqur leaving four runs to be score from the last two balls.

Mushfiqur though didn’t wait for the last ball and scripted the historic win in dramatic fashion.

But before that he showed his character when the Bangladesh middle-order began to undo their brilliant bowling and a promising start to the chase and he had Nasir, who added a valuable 18 runs off 15 balls with one boundary, beside him to take the match into the final touch by sharing 35 runs for the seventh wicket.

Mushfiqur stayed firm until the end. He didn’t lose his cool even though the asking rate was increasing. Bangladesh needed 43 from the last five overs with five wickets in hand and at one stage they required 20 runs from the last two overs and West Indies skipper Darren Sammy could be seen smiling on the field, but Mushfiqur and Nasir turned the tables, taking 14 runs from the penultimate over of pacer Carlos Brathwaite.

The fans were on their toes in the last over and Mushfiqur gave them reason to smile and compensated for the recent disastrous tour of Zimbabwe and the shameful batting debacle (58 runs all out) against the same opponents at the same venue in the ICC World Cup.

SCORES IN BRIEF

WEST INDIES: 132 for 8 (Simmons 23, Barath 15, Samuels 58, Russell 5, Bravo 7, Ramdin 10 not out; Razzak 2-27, Shafiul 2-19, Shakib 2-25)

BANGLADESH: 135 for 7 (Tamim 11, Imrul 22, Ashraful 24, Mushfiqur 41 not out; Naeem 10, Nasir 18; Rampaul 2-28, Samuels 2-14)

Result: Bangladesh won by three wickets.

Man-of-the-match: Mushfiqur Rahim.

The 130-run defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe in the one-off Test ranks among the poorest days in Bangladesh cricket, if not the most disappointing as far as captain Shakib Al Hasan was concerned.

Being 244 all out in the second innings off 57.3 overs, in pursuit of 374 runs in four sessions, was poor on all counts: the surrender when a chase was definitely on, batting the fewest number of overs in the game when patience was most required, the lack of a Plan B (the non-existence of a proper Plan A for that matter) and the lack of commitment.

These missing ingredients make the country’s cricket poorer and the national cricket team an object of ridicule.

With 263 more runs required for an improbably victory since only seven wickets remained on the fifth and final day, a fight beckoned. But the fight, something that the Tigers were seen involved in only on a few occasions this year, went missing.

On the flipside, the home team gave the best example of preparation, togetherness, discipline and most importantly heart. Brendan Taylor’s men wanted to win and they did, the captain picking up the man-of-the-match trophy for his match-winning second innings century.

The Tigers were off to an aggressive start yesterday but Mohammad Ashraful was the first to go. He inside edged a Brian Vitori delivery on to his stumps, leaving for 39 off 51 balls.

Mahmudullah Riyad came in to bat, for the first time in his short Test career at No 6, and immediately the Tigers’ mindset became dubious. It was as much a defensive move as it stacked the odds against Shakib Al Hasan, opting to bat at seven for the fourth time since he became captain.

Riyad, wafting at a number of deliveries without moving his feet much, perished in said fashion to Chris Mpofu. It became 167 for five and a Test win was out of the window.

With a bigger tail to bat with and as the last recognised pair, Shakib’s intent was clearer than the Harare sky. He went for broke and off Elton Chigumbura, he smashed one boundary that kissed the finger-tips of mid-off fieldsman Kyle Jarvis and then swished at one that he hoped to send out of the ground.

Next ball, his waft found the edge and went straight to his opposite number at second slip.

Mushfiqur Rahim, flicking one down square-leg’s throat, went at the same score 174 for seven and it was all over for Bangladesh.

Abdur Razzak blasted five boundaries and three sixes, in the space of two overs, to ensure that someone would remember he played in this Test but apart from his 17-ball 43, nothing was good about the Tigers.

After the lunch break, Jarvis cleaned up the rest with his third and fourth wicket to cap off a remarkable debut after his bad luck in the first innings.

SCORES IN BRIEF
ZIMBABWE: First innings 370

BANGLADESH: First innings 287

ZIMBABWE: Second innings 291 for 5 decl.

BANGLADESH: Second innings 244 (Imrul 31, Tamim 43, Ashraful 39, Mushfiqur 28, Razzak 43, Robiul 12; Jarvis 14-61, Chigumbura 2-50, Mpofu 3-51)

Result: Zimbabwe won by 130 runs.

Man-of-the-match: Brendan Taylor.