Mumbai: Mashrafe Mortaza-led Bangladesh are on cloud nine and why not, for the first time the proverbial minnows in cricket have defeated this year’s World Cup semi-finalists in a series and have now taken their winning streak at home to 10 games. More than the adrenaline of emerging triumphant over the Men in Blue, ‘The Tigers’ have now secured a spot in the 2017 Champions Trophy which see Team India as the current holders.
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A Champions League berth beckoned Bangladesh before they faced India in the first of the three one-day internationals. They surpassed the first hurdle with a thumping win (79 runs), and the second ODI was even sweeter, being the better side than the opposition with a margin of six wickets.
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A superior acknowledgement needs to be given to Mustafizur Rahman, Bangladesh’s find this series. With 11 wickets under his belt in just the two ODIs he’s played, the 19-year-old lad has entered his name into the record books, becoming the second player to scalp two five-wicket hauls in the first two ODIs.
Bangladesh players lift Mustafizur Rahman as they celebrate the series win over India in Mirpur on Sunday. (Photo: AP)
Read: Mustafizur Rahman swings himself into record books
Even ODI skipper Mortaza was amazed in the fashion in which they won both their matches. “It is definitely one of the biggest achievements. The truth is that even we did not expect to win the first two matches with such big margins. We knew the series against India would be competitive if we played our best. But fortunately everything went our way. The boys are very confident now,” he said.
With the series already sealed, Bangladesh now are in seventh spot in the overall ICC Team Rankings, having played 30 matches and 93 points in the kitty and have booked a berth in the 2017 Champions Trophy which will take place in England. India are at number two position with 114 points.
And here comes the big fight! West Indies and Pakistan, who are currently occupying the eighth and ninth position in the ICC Team rankings, will be vying for the eighth spot. England, as the 2017 host, and the next seven highest-ranked teams as on September 30 this year will qualify for the tournament.
(Photo: Screengrab taken from the official website of International Cricket Council)
According to match schedules, the Caribbean boys have no more ODIs before September, while Pakistan, who are already in Sri Lanka, will play five ODIs, and Bangladesh will host South Africa for three.
Pakistan have already created a major upset in the island nation. Yasir Shah’s seven-wicket haul saw an upset of sorts when Misbah ul-Haq-led side took the Galle Test by 10 wickets after recovering from a precarious situation at the start of the fourth day.
Pakistan will surely be looking to qualify for the eighth spot, and with the recent roar in Bangladesh, the struggle gets even harder. Former Pakistani Test cricketer Sarfaraz Nawaz reportedly made a scathing attack at the Indian Team.
Nawaz suspects India lost the match intentionally to ensure Pakistan do not get secure a position in the next Champions Trophy. On a TV show, he was asked if Bangladesh were the better team on the day, to which he said, “No, no, there must be a conspiracy because India never want Pakistan in the Champions Trophy.”
Conspiracies and accusations aside, with such a planned performance, Bangladesh are sure to shed their minnows tag soon. Pakistan and West Indies, on the other hand have to pull up their socks.
