Bangladesh’s giant slaying 2007 feat
Greatest CWC Moment - 5 Days to Go
Bangladesh had secured two wins in its warm-up matches, beating Scotland and also overcoming New Zealand, and was quietly confident. India had gone one better in the warm-ups, with comprehensive wins over the Netherlands and the West Indies in which both batsmen and bowlers came good.
India had amongst the most pedigreed batting line-ups in the competition, and was thought of as a potential semi-finalist at least. In what was the first game of the 2007 World Cup for both teams, Rahul Dravid won the toss and chose to bat first.
The Moment
It would soon become apparent that the toss was the only thing that would go in India’s favour. Pacer Mashrafe Mortaza led the way, dismissing Virender Sehwag (2) and Robin Uthappa (9) inside the first seven overs. Both Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar were stifled, adding only 19 runs in 8.2 overs, and from then India was on the back foot.
The spin duo of Abdur Razzak and Mohammad Rafique then broke open the middle order, accounting for Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Ganguly and MS Dhoni between them. All the while, run-scoring had been choked, so even as wickets fell, India’s position continued to weaken.
A final-wicket stand of 32 between Munaf Patel and Zaheer Khan pushed the total to 191, before Mortaza ended things with his fourth wicket.
Mortaza took 4 for 38, Razzak finished with 3 for 38 and Rafique claimed 3 for 35. Just like the bowlers had done, a troika of batsmen then ensured the second half of the game would also go Bangladesh’s way.
"It was a good toss to lose. When I saw the wicket, it looked a good batting track but our new bowlers did very well. Then our spinners did a fantastic job. There wasn't a lot of turn but they put the ball in the right place."
Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain.
Tamim Iqbal only 17 years and five ODIs old at the time, gave his side a blistering start with a robust 53-ball 51 that included two sixes and seven fours. Shakib Al Hasan, also a young up-and-coming allrounder of 19, made a composed 53 off 86 while Mushfiqur Rahim, also a teenager then, clocking in at 18-years-old, stayed till the end with 56 not out off 107 balls.
Mushfiqur and Shakib came together with the score a tricky 79 for 3 in 16 overs, but both batted with a maturity that belied their years. An 84-run stand followed which brought Bangladesh to the doorstep of victory, before Mushfiqur sealed it in the penultimate over. All three teenagers were on World Cup debut, making the performance even more noteworthy.
"Yes! Hands in the air! It's gone through. What an innings. What a day for Bangladeshi cricket. Is it their biggest moment yet? Only time will tell. But it is certainly a wonderful way to start their World Cup campaign."
Ian Bishop commentating on air during the match.
What happened next?
Defeat for India eventually heralded its exit from the first round, an ignominy it hadn’t suffered since 1979. Bangladesh, with wins against India and Bermuda, qualified for the Super Eights and went on to beat another Test playing nation, winning against South Africa although they did lose to Ireland in a match that was slated to be India v Pakistan.
Although it couldn’t progress beyond that stage, Bangladesh had won the hearts of all cricket fans with its incredible and unexpected performance in the group stages.
