As the victory still grips the country, the question that comes to the fore—can Bangladesh cash in on the victory to kick-start the fairytale journey? If the past history is taken into the consideration, it is likely, if not highly likely given Bangladesh mostly relies on the momentum to thrive in any tournament. When Bangladesh get the flow, they look unbeatable mostly. And to boost the confidence, they sealed a victory in such stunning fashion that their recent past failure in all format of the cricket, the selection woe, the criticism regarding the performance got buried.
Chasing down a mammoth target away from home is always confidence booster and Bangladesh made it against a team who had recently gave them torrid time at their own den. Bangladesh were set a target of 215 by the Sri Lanka and not many fancied Bangladesh to chase it down halfway through the innings. The team was low on morale and was on a losing streak before pulling this one off. This was the fourth highest chase in T20 International game and highest amongst the Asian team.
“We badly needed this win,” said the hero of the chase Mushfiqur Rahim, underlying the fact that how the victory would lift up the morale of the team. As Bangladesh won the game, the tournament is now beautifully set up with all the teams winning one game each so far. However, Sri Lanka is still atop of the points table courtesy their good net run rate. They are followed by India and Bangladesh who have a negative net run rate.
The victory was something to cherish but Mushfiqur was seen celebrating such wildly that no one has ever seen and also put some dancing skills on display. Despite carrying an injury, he managed to score 72 off just 35 balls and was adjudged the ‘Man of the Match’. As he took a single to complete the chase, he unleashed a snake dance that went viral in the social media outlet. Perhaps it is going to be the theme dance of Bangladesh in future like the way they were used to sing ‘we shall overcome’ in the dressing room after a victory. Mushfiqur then dedicated the innings to his 35 days old baby son.
But the question is why the celebration was so wild, something that evoke the memory of Mominul Haque’s celebration after he scored a Test century against Sri Lanka a couple of months ago. Like Mominul, Mushfiqur didn’t sprint toward someone, but everyone sensed as to why he unfolded such celebration. The then former head coach Chandika Hathurusingha devised a plan to drop Mushfiqur from the T20 team and the man replied it with great innings, so the celebration was understandable.
“Can’t ask much more than this. Gave away too many runs,” Mushfiqur said, refusing to elaborate the reason of his wild celebration. “190 would have been chaseable. Liton and Tamim were outstanding to set it up. Dedicate this knock to my son, who’s only 35 days old. At the end of the day, the result is the most important thing. It was just a cramp. Hopefully, I will recover soon,” he said.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Papon said the players had the belief that they can turn the things around.
“They were low on morale but they believed they can turn the things around. I saw the belief in them when I spoke to them after the defeat against India,” the president told the reporters in Colombo yesterday.
“It is not revenge. We are playing for our country. Hopefully this victory would help us back on track.”
Bangladesh have now genuine chance to make it to the final if they can carry on the performance. Otherwise it would be leveled as ‘one-off’ incident.
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Editor : M. Shamsur Rahman
Published by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited at Media Printers, 446/H, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1215.
Editorial, News & Commercial Offices : Beximco Media Complex, 149-150 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000.
Editor : M. Shamsur Rahman
Published by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited at Media Printers, 446/H, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1215.
Editorial, News & Commercial Offices : Beximco Media Complex, 149-150 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000.