Bangladesh – The masters of major upsets
Bangladesh started their campaign at the 2019 World Cup with a bang, beating the much more fancied South Africa by 21 runs. The win showed exactly how much the Tigers have progressed over the years becoming a challenging prospect for any opposition. The expectations will now be sky-high from this unit for the remainder of the campaign and other teams will have to be wary about taking them lightly.
This is not the first time though that Bangladesh has scalped a win over a much bigger team in a World Cup match. They have a history of causing big upsets in the cricket’s showpiece event. Starting their World Cup journey in 1999, Bangladesh have finally managed to escape the tag of minnows progressing slowly but steadily over the years. Here we list down their most famous wins in the World Cup over the years.
Against India, 2007 World Cup
A dark day in the history of Indian cricket but the first signs that Bangladesh were starting to emerge as a force in world cricket. India were in disarray under the tenure of Greg Chappell with a non-existent harmony in the dressing room. Bangladesh made full use of it in a group stage match at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad. Mashrafe Mortaza and Abdur Razzak were in fine form, with their efforts restricting a high-profile Indian batting unit to a score of 191. Fifties from youngsters Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim then ensured that Bangladesh won the match with 5 wickets in hand. The loss meant that India would eventually be knocked out of the tournament in the group stages itself.
Against South Africa, 2007 World Cup
Bangladesh continued their brilliant tournament in 2007 by taking another big scalp in the form of South Africa during the Super Eights. Playing in Guyana, Bangladesh first put up a competitive score of 251/8 on the board, courtesy of a brilliant 87 from Mohammad Ashraful. The stage was perfectly set-up for their spinners with Abdul Razzak picking up 3 wickets on a slow and low pitch. A collective effort from the bowling department meant that they restricted the South Africans to a score of 184, winning the match by 67 runs. This was their only victory in the Super Eight stage of the 2007 World Cup.
Against England, 2011 World Cup
As one of the hosts of the 2011 World Cup, expectations were high from Bangladesh for a good showing during the tournament. Though they failed to reach the quarter-finals, they did put up some decent performances. The biggest win came against England in Chittagong. First restricting England to 225, Bangladesh looked destined for defeat with their score at 169/8. But Mahmudullah announced his arrival as a finisher for the Tigers, working brilliantly with the tail to take his team home. He scored a patient 21 off 42 deliveries. Shafiul Islam also emerged as an unlikely hero, scoring 24 off 24 deliveries batting at No.10. Bangladesh eventually reached the target with an over remaining.
Against England, 2015 World Cup
The match which brought about wholesale changes in the approach and culture of English cricket, especially in the ODI format. A do-or-die match played at the Adelaide Oval, with a quarter-final place on the line, Bangladesh batted first. They put up a competitive score of 275/7 on the board, with Mahmudullah again being England’s tormentor in chief with a brilliant 103. Defending the target, Rubel Hossain emerged as a star for Bangladesh picking up 4 wickets. They bowled out an uninspiring England batting unit on 260, winning the match by 15 runs and progressing to the quarter-finals.
