Mashrafe, you deserve it

The morning of September 29 must have broken with some harsh light for the Bangladesh cricketers in Dubai and their loyal fans back home. It was much the same on March 23, 2012, when the Asia Cup final against Pakistan was lost in the final ball in Mirpur the night before. But as time wore on in 2012, the pain of defeat gave way to a feeling of accomplishment born from the feeling that Bangladesh cricket had finally broken through and had defeated all but one of their more celebrated neighbours before falling at the final hurdle.

On Friday night, the pain of failure at the final hurdle in the final ball -- this time against India -- haunted the cricketers and cricket lovers once again. Like 2012, this pain too shall pass but there will be a different sense of accomplishment from Asia Cup 2018.

Defeating Sri Lanka in the opener, then Afghanistan and Pakistan in must-win games may sound par for the course for the team fans have come to know since 2012. However, winning two of those matches without talismanic opener Tamim Iqbal and the one against Pakistan without both Tamim and ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is not something that would have been expected. Making the final in the kind of heat they had never experienced before and doing it with setbacks that would have crippled Bangladesh sides of the past marks a new level.

To accomplish that, young players who were part of the support cast -- Liton Das and Mohammad Mithun -- and those who were leaders in waiting but often seemed to need a helping hand -- Mustafizur Rahman and Mehedi Hasan Miraz -- came to the fore. That, and the tremendous fighting spirit shown by the Tigers throughout the two-week long event -- not least in taking India's chase of 222 down to the final ball on Friday -- will be Bangladesh's biggest takeaway.

"Everyone may think about the 2012 Asia Cup final, but I see it a little differently," Bangladesh opener Tamim had said on September 13, two days before the tournament opener against Sri Lanka in Dubai. "The 2012 Asia Cup was the tournament where we first got the belief that we could beat any team -- that we could be competitive.

"I remember that; not my four fifties or how we lost the final by two runs. I remember how we played as a team and beat teams that no one would have thought we could beat. We beat India and Sri Lanka, and lost two very competitive matches against Pakistan."

Little did Tamim know then that it was his injury two days later, which forced him to fly out of the Asia Cup and back home, that would contribute to this tournament being remembered as the next big step for Bangladesh after 2012.

Since 2012, Bangladesh's graph has trended upward, with occasional dips. But a common feature of that rise has been the people doing the heavy lifting. Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad have been the five cricketers who have worked wonders for Bangladesh cricket over much of the last decade.

But this Asia Cup was a departure from the norm because the Bangladesh team do not often do well with setbacks, especially when they have to fight with those setbacks against oppositions perceived to be superior. That happened in this tournament too -- losing the last group game against Afghanistan and the first Super Four match against India in abject fashion were a function of them struggling to overcome the setbacks of losing Tamim, scheduling confusions and having to play three matches in four days in 40-plus degree heat.

The recovery, and the architects of the recovery, will be the source of inspiration for future campaigns. While it is true that there was magical captaincy from Mashrafe, he still had to rely on opener Imrul Kayes to fly in on Saturday night and score a match-winning fifty against Afghanistan on Sunday from number six, rescuing the side in partnership with Mahmudullah from 87 for five. Faced with non-performing opening pairs, Mashrafe took the wildcard decision to open with number eight batsman Mehedi in the final, but the youngster still had to show the courage to be a part of a 120-run opening stand with a sublime Liton. For his part, Liton was the one who had to repay his captain's continued faith, and he did so with a maiden century in the most important game of the tournament.

Mushfiqur was Bangladesh's best batsman in the tournament with scores of 144 in the opening game and 99 against Pakistan. In both those innings, however, Mithun was an indispensable foil with innings of 63 and 60 in century-plus partnerships that rescued Bangladesh from top-order collapses. 

In each of Bangladesh's three wins in the tournament, someone other than the Big Five stepped up and took responsibility. The bowlers, led by Mashrafe, Mustafizur and Mehedi, were consistent throughout and the spirited fielding was the flag-bearer of the team's never-say-die spirit.

 "The positives depend on the individuals. I think losing to India twice was something that I didn't desire. When Shakib and Tamim are back, the team will do well in the future if we can hold on to this spirit," Mashrafe said after the match.

There will certainly be heartbroken fans who will rue another missed opportunity, another last-ball failure. But this tournament showed that the ingredients long craved for outside the Big Five are very much present and the work in progress is waiting for completion with the return of the two big stalwarts.

The takeaway from this latest heartbreak is that it will just be a matter of time before bittersweet gives way to unadulterated joy.

The stat of not winning a single game against India in their seven T20I meetings so far, including the two defeats in the Nidahas Trophy, may not hang as heavy on the shoulders of Bangladesh players after their scintillating and morale-boosting two-wicket victory over Sri Lanka on Friday as the Tigers take on India in the final at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo today. It will be their fifth multi-nation final appearance across all formats.

Following a win like Friday's, it seems that all that transpired at the R Premadasa Stadium -- skipper Shakib Al Hasan's angry outburst against the umpires and him pleading with Mahmudullah Riyad to come off the field to Mahmudullah smashing a monster six of the penultimate delivery to snatch a win from jaws of defeat -- will work as confidence booster for the Tigers when they take on in-form favourites India.

And that was probably what the Bangladesh players have been labeling as the Bangladeshi brand of cricket -- playing in an exciting and fearless way.

The cornerstone of that brand have been the senior players -- the solidity of Tamim Iqbal at the top of the order, the guile and class of returning captain Shakib Al Hasan and the cool yet, when needed, explosive batting of Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad. With all these senior players playing some of their best cricket in the tournament, this could be the time the Tigers break their final jinx and take Bangladesh cricket a step further.

However, it will not be easy at all because their opponents have been playing clinical cricket throughout the series, losing only one of four games and beating Bangladesh twice.

Once again the start will be crucial for the Tigers both with bat and ball along with the death-overs bowling against a strong Indian batting line-up. After losing the first game against India by six wickets, Bangladesh managed to come up with a better approach in the reverse fixture, but still went on to lose that match by 17 runs.

The Bangladesh bowlers did manage to keep the Indian batters quiet during the Powerplay in both games, conceding 47 and 49 runs respectively.

But India skipper Rohit Sharma's return to form against Bangladesh in the last match, when he plundered 89 off 61 balls, along with Shikhar Dhawan who has struck two fifties in four games so far, makes it of paramount importance for Bangladesh to get rid of the openers early if they are to mount a challenge.

Bangladesh are not expected to break the winning combination going into the final, with pacer Rubel Hossain's fine rhythm along with Mustafizur Rahman's variations likely to be key for them.

Shakib will once again lead the spin bowling department but he needs to overcome the mental block of hiding left-arm spinners whenever there are two left-handers at the crease; a strategy which had almost cost him the game on Friday. Shakib, after having taken a wicket for nine runs in his two-over spell initially, did not come again to bowl while keeping another left-arm spinner, Nazmul Islam, completely out of action against the plethora of left-handed Sri Lankan batsmen.

With the bat, Bangladesh must chalk out some proper planning to face in-form off-spinner Washington Sundar, who has been terrific throughout the series both in the Powerplay and in death overs. The youngster scalped all three Bangladeshi top-order batsmen inside the Powerplay and ended up giving away just 22 runs from his four overs in the last match.

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has also remained effective throughout the series alongside pacer Shardul Thakur with his knuckle deliveries, which can prove venomous yet again for the Bangladesh batters. 

India's wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik Saturday said Bangladesh are always a tricky opposition and that his team would bring high intensity to the Twenty20 tri-series final between the two sides today.

Skipper Rohit Sharma's team were the first to book their place in the final after winning three of their four games at Colombo's R Premadasa Stadium.

India hold a psychological edge going into the tournament decider, with a 7-0 record in T20s against Bangladesh.

But Karthik insisted India would not take Bangladesh lightly after the Shakib Al Hasan-led team stunned Sri Lanka, beating the hosts by two wickets on Friday to reach the final.

"In sub-continent conditions, (Bangladesh) are a very good team," Karthik told reporters.

"When we play Bangladesh, if we win, it's like 'Ok, you've won against Bangladesh', but if we lose, it's like: 'Dude, you've lost to Bangladesh. What are you doing?'"

India went into the tournament without top guns Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and lost their opening match to Sri Lanka, but soon bounced back to win three straight games.

Karthik, a powerful middle-order batsman who is mostly a second-choice wicketkeeper behind Dhoni, said the team has not lost focus in the absence of big names.

"The first thing (Sharma)... said was that although we have a few of our other players missing, we're looking to play exactly the sort of cricket that we've played in the past one year. We're looking to win every match," Karthik said.

India are third in the world T20 rankings, with Pakistan at the top, while Bangladesh are 10th below minnows Afghanistan.

In Bangladesh, cricket is not just a sport, but rather a spirit. It is something that connects every household, every community, and is a language every Bangladeshi knows how to speak. It is one thing that has the power to keep millions of viewers glued to their screens and feel the surge of adrenaline rush at the same time.

And with Bangladesh making waves in cricket and creating moments that will forever be etched in our hearts and memoires, here are the top five most memorable moments of Bangladesh cricket.

Qualifying for the 1999 World Cup and winning ICC Trophy 1997

Albeit having played their first international game in the 1980s, Bangladesh had to wait for their World Cup qualification for over a decade. After making it to the final of the ICC Trophy 1997, Bangladesh secured a spot in the 1999 World Cup. The semi-final against the Netherlands where Akram Khan's heroic performance left the entire nation in joyful tears.

It was a difficult match to watch as Bangladesh initially lost four wickets with only 14 runs, adding to this was a very unfavourable rainy weather. However, the situation took an impressive turn when, towards the final over, the target was achieved and Bangladesh won the match, qualifying themselves for the 1999 World Cup.

Beating Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup

Another momentous glory was when Bangladesh beat Pakistan during the 1999 World Cup. That year, the Tigers were led by the legendary Akram Khan, where the team ended up beating Pakistan by 62 runs, vastly owing to the team effort by Shahriar Hossain and captain Akram Khan, eventually having the Pakistan Team all out by 161 runs.

It was an unbelievable sight to witness, when even before recapping the last wicket and making the final verdict, the crowd was on the ground cheering for Bangladesh! This victory felt like winning beyond cricket and gave Bangladeshis all over the country the true taste of joy. 

The Banglawash

Who does not remember the unforgettable Banglawash in 2010? This series between Bangladesh and New Zealand will always be known and remembered among the Bangladesh cricket fraternity as "Banglawash" as it was a series where Bangladesh clean swept the opponent, winning all matches.

After winning the One Day International series, Bangladesh continued to win the rest of the matches, and this victory remains as one of the greatest achievements for Bangladesh cricket to this day. It was also the series where Rubel Hossain made a mark in the international scene and Bangladesh discovered a gem of a bowler.

Photo: ACC

Bangladesh women cricket win Asia Cup

Bangladesh cricket truly is an example of how cricket brings a nation together, undivided by gender. During the Asia Cup 2018, Bangladesh Women's Cricket Team celebrated massive victory as they defeated India in the final, enabling Bangladesh to achieve its maiden trophy in a multi-team tournament.

The match neared an intense end in the last over where nine runs were required, with Rumana Ahmed and Sanjida Islam batting. In an unprecedented turn of events, with fours and a wicket, the match ended with Jahanara Alam securing the final run. This was a massive and memorable win for the Bangladesh Women's Cricket Team.

Bangladesh losing to Pakistan in Asia Cup 2012    

Not all memorable moments of cricket are associated with winning a match — sometimes the memory of a loss in the field, especially in our own land stays reserved within our hearts for years. Such was the case in Asia Cup 2012, when Bangladesh needed only 9 runs in the last over to win against Pakistan in the final round.

The match took an intense nail-biting finish by the time of the final delivery when Bangladesh was short of four runs. Being so close to claiming the cup and what seemed like an inevitable victory for Bangladesh throughout their batsmanship quickly turned into defeat as Pakistan ended up winning by two runs. Although Bangladesh did not win the match that time, the Tigers won the hearts of the nation.