[Watch] Tigers’ rise through the India rivalry
Bangladesh are set to play a semifinal match against India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, a game which will definitely induce excitement among fans on both sides.
The rivalry has found new meaning in the recent past as both sides traded blows across several ODI series and tournaments.
No, the rivalry is not about having an equal standing – even the most ardent Bangladesh fan has to accept the fact that Bangladesh go into this game as underdogs.
However, Bangladesh have been a thorn in India’s side for some time. If anything, Virat Kohli’s side knows that Bangladesh can spring a surprise on their day.
While the India-Pakistan rivalry has been the preeminent one in the subcontinent, the Bangladesh-India match-up has formed a rivalry of its own as the babes of international cricket have inflicted some telling blows on their older neighbours over the years, giving rise to social media wars waged by the fans of both sides that gives Thursday’s semifinal the feel of a grudge match.
Here we go through a chronological journey and revisit the five Bangladesh victories over India. We look at Bangladesh’s rise in International cricket through the prism of their rivalry against India.
26 December 2004, Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka – an upset
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This was India’s first full tour of Bangladesh. Bangladesh just wanted to show good spirits and enjoy their cricket – and see if they can manage to spring a surprise on a formidable India side captained by Sourav Ganguly.
The first game of the series was played in Chittagong at the MA Aziz Stadium as an experienced Bangladesh side led by Habibul Bashar managed to restrict India to 245. Bangladesh made a good game of it and fell short of India’s total by just 11 runs.
In the next game of the series, at Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka, -- India rested Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid coming into the game while Bangladesh were pumped after the good showing in their first encounter.
Aftab Ahmed who had made his debut ODI debut two months prior to this match, played a handy knock of 67 runs as Bangladesh posted 229 runs for nine.
A young Mashrafe Mortaza was bowling with fire at the Indian batsmen and led the charge by picking up Sehwag in the third delivery of the innings. He and Tapas Baisya put the squeeze on the Indian batsmen as India lost a few quick wickets.
Mashrafe would come back later into the attack to remove the dangerous Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Bangladesh were on cloud nine when Aftab ran out Murali Karthik – bowling India out for 214 to win the game by 15 runs.
Bangladesh put a great deal of effort throwing themselves about in the field and it resulted in India losing their last recognised batsman Mohammad Kaif – who was threatening to take the game away from Bangladesh -- run out after a brilliant direct hit from Rajin Saleh.
It was just Bangladesh’s fifth win in 99 matches and only their third against Test-playing opposition. It also confirmed what many in Bangladesh already knew – that Mashrafe, who picked up the player of the match award for his two for 36 in nine overs, was a world-class pace bowler.
17 March 2007, Queens Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad -- major upset and emerging talent
The Bangladesh team were united in mourning the loss of cricketer Manjural Islam Rana one day prior to the Group B fixture against India in the 2007 World Cup. Rana, who was also one of Mashrafe’s closest friends, died after his motorbike lost control and collided with a mini-bus. The team felt distraught after receiving the news and Mashrafe wanted to win the game for his friend.
Bangladesh caused a major upset as a strong Indian batting lineup -- consisting of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Virendar Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh -- were bowled out for a measly 191 runs against the Tigers.
In the match, Mashrafe bowled at high pace, often touching the 145 kph mark, and took four wickets.
An Interesting story that appeared in the Indian Express provides further meaning to the way that Mashrafe reigned on the Indian batsman that day.
Anil Kumble had bumped into Mashrafe in the teams’ hotel and in a friendly chat the now Indian coach griped about how India did not have enough recuperation time between the 2007 World Cup and the tour of Bangladesh -- which was to take place immediately following the World Cup.
“Kumble’s statement almost implied that they expected India to reach the final. He didn’t say it to spite us but I was struck by the arrogance embedded in the statement. Here the tournament was still to begin and Indians were already expecting a berth in the final. It certainly fired us,” Mortaza would say later.
Nobody was prepared for this -- least of all India as they struggled against the new ball. Mashrafe took the scalp of Sehwag and Uthappa with before he finished off the Indian innings with two more wickets in the death overs.
India found it difficult to handle Bangladesh’s battery of left-arm off-spinners as Abdur Razzaq, Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Rafique reigned supreme. Veteran Rafique picked up three wickets along with Abdur Razzaq who also took three.
This was also the year when Bangladesh saw the rise of three young emerging talents who would go on to become pillars of the modern Bangladesh team -- Tamim Iqbal was aged 18 at the time, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim were in there 20s -- and all three struck 50’s as Bangladesh chased down India’s 191 with five wickets to spare.
The victory remains a major sporting achievement in Bangladesh history. Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was again the player of the match for finishing with figures of four for 38.
The defeat would lead to India crashing out of the group phase of the World Cup. Less than a month later Greg Chappell would leave the India coaching job and Rahul Dravid resigned from captaincy some six months later.
The defeat hurt India badly and spiked the sense of rivalry between the two teams. Many of their superstar players were in disbelief. For India, losing to Bangladesh -- the new kids on the block was a major embarrassment. The victory gave Bangladesh impetus to win their game against South Africa and cause another upset in the 2007 World Cup.
Former Bangladesh player Akram Khan said: "If Mashrafe had broken the backbone of the Indian team, Tamim hammered the final nail in the coffin with dazzling strokeplay.
"I can assure you that we did not have the courage in our generation to play cricket like this," he added.
These were the first steps towards a change of mentality in Bangladesh cricket, now they had a proactive attitude -- a will to put the pressure back on the opponent -- to play with fire and trade blows. The way Tamim went down the wicket to dispatch a Zaheer Khan over long on was the defining portrait of the change taking place in Bangladesh cricket.
16 March 2012, Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur – Tendulkar’s 100th century to no avail
India came into the Asia cup as the reigning World Champions after their victory in the 2011 World Cup, a campaign they started off by beating Bangladesh in the opener in Mirpur. The talk in the media was of Sachin Tendulkar reaching the milestone of the 100th international century.
The Little Master had been struggling to reach the milestone for a while but at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium he finally scored a hundred to complete his ton of tons. India posted 289 for five and while it was a slow innings from Tendulkar, India nevertheless felt happy with the target they set for Bangladesh.
That idea would change at the end of the game as the lusty hitting of Mushfiqur and Shakib saw Bangladesh overhaul India’s total to deliver an incredible win. Mushfiqur’s innings of 46 from 25 balls snatched the game away from India.
The defeat was especially difficult for India as it ruined the momentous occasion of Tendulkar’s landmark achievement. Some in the Indian media had tried to downplay the defeat saying that ‘the monkey was off the back’ referring to the fact that Tendulkar was unable to bat freely with the milestone looming ever larger and now the team could focus on winning the tournament.
That factor was ultimately negated as the defeat led to India crashing out of the tournament, coming third in the standings. The tournament saw an emerging Tigers’ outfit play the final against Pakistan.
2015 – India in Bangladesh – Mustafizur announces his arrival
Bangladesh had handed Pakistan a whitewash in April 2015, winning the ODI series 3-0. The Tigers’ played tremendous cricket throughout the ODI series played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium and Tamim was in scorching form, scoring back-to-back centuries in the first two games before following up with a half-century in the final match.
The Tigers’ were brimming with confidence after the massive morale boosting victories against Pakistan. They wanted to hand India a ‘Banglawash’( a term developed by Bangladesh fans meaning a whitewash).
On June 18 Bangladesh faced India at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium and posted a formidable score of 307 after winning the toss -- a record score for Bangladesh against India in ODIs. The series saw an emerging talent enter Bangladesh cricket as Mustafizur Rahman announced his arrival -- the cutter master picked up five wickets in his debut match and vanquished the Indian batting lineup. Bangladesh won the game by 79 runs, having bowled out India for 228 runs. This was an incredible victory for Bangladesh cricket -- they mounted a serious challenge and faced India with a belief never seen before.
Bangladesh went on to win the second ODI with the same authority as the first. India -- normally the best chasing side -- chose to bat first against Bangladesh, perhaps thinking it would bring a change in fortunes.
Mustafizur Rahman once again was the hero for Bangladesh as he beguiled the experienced Indian batting lineup in much the same way as the first ODI. His haul of six wickets for 43 saw India bowled out for just 200 runs. Bangladesh reached the target in 47 overs with four wickets to spare -- Shakib steered the run chase with an effective 51.
India however avoided a whitewash after securing a victory in the last game – a dead rubber; Bangladesh won the series 2-1.
With this victory Bangladesh emerged as a formidable cricketing nation -- currently ranked 6th in ICC rankings above Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
They have made their mark on this edition of the ICC Champions Trophy and have made the semifinals for the very first time in their history. In front of them lie a familiar opponent in the shape of India -- Bangladesh will keep improving and hope their rise continues through this rivalry.
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