Miles to go before Bangla sleep!

ldquoIndian journalists are asking me if a third upset is on the cards I ask why do you think it will be an upset Bangladesh are a wellbalanced team this year They are capable of great things and let us not forget what happened in 2007 or the 2004 ODIs I have vowed to never watch cricket again if we lose to India todayrdquo Mujassim Mohammed told MidDay while blowing a conch and waving the Bangladeshi flag incessantly on the sidelines of the league stage match in PuneWhile Mujassim was busy flaunting his tigerprint paint on each cheek highpitched lsquoIndia Indiarsquo chants of little children could be heard a few metres away blending with the roars of their parentsMujassim a 34yearold research scholar from Chattogram has followed the Shakib Al Hasanled outfit for over two decades ldquoCompared to others our opportunity to play against the bigger nations is limited We have to prove ourselves in the limited number of matches we get to play It is a doordie battle out there We have some big names playing for the country they are no less than Indiarsquos Ravichandran Ashwin or Australiarsquos David Warner Exposure is the all that mattersrdquo he complained while staring at his Indian counterparts beneath a furrowed browOver the years Bangladesh have been perceived as the slitheriest of banana skins for the lsquobrawlyrsquo opposition at major ICC tournaments mainly World Cups but never strong contenders However the likes of England Australia South Africa or even India for that matter are also acutely aware of the shifting dynamics in international cricket that the tide can always turn in an unknown timeFor a country emanated from a ruthless war cricket has strived hard to represent hope in presentday Bangladesh The sport is regarded as an expression of freedom probably by a means of looking their superiors in the eye to carve a name for itself and it was even more so for Bangladesh Football was an easy distraction but they were aware it was not going to help them make a name in it at least not anytime soon With cricket thousands of hundreds like Mujassim swore their allegiance to this one sport that he feels lsquokabhi hasata hain toh kabhi rulata hainrsquo sometimes it makes you laugh and sometimes it makes you cryldquoYes that insecurity as a Bangla fan has always been there Indians look dangerous this year plus they have the home advantage Irsquom definitely not as ardent a fan as he Mujassim is but I look forward to seeing our team win today Any win over India calls for a big celebration back homerdquo Mujassimrsquos longtime friend Mohammad Faisal told MidDay while making his habit of flashing the victory sign evident to othersAlso ReadAfghans relish new lease of lifeAn opening win followed by two losses against better teams had put Bangladesh in a position of some desperation given that a third loss on the trot will only dent their hopes In fact the man around whom the team did once revolve is no more a part of the team Tamim Iqbals absence has time and again threatened to lay hold of the spotlight as he has been one of the top batters for Bangladesh in ODIs having amassed 8357 runs in 243 ODI outingsWhen reporters quizzed coach Chandika Hathurusingha in the prematch press conference about whether there will be a repetition of the 2007 World Cup on Thursday he replied ldquoI can only ask my team to do 100 percent and our best And then after that I have little control of what the outcome isrdquo There was frustration and with it a hint of anger in his voiceHathurusingha whose side had been under pressure to bounce back from two consecutive defeats later added that World Cup contests are entirely different from any other matches Notably the Bangla Tigers have defeated the Men in Blue thrice in their previous four ODI meetings over the last few months but by Hathurusingharsquos own admission it will have no bearing on the Thursday encounterAnd it for sure didnrsquotAs has been usually the norm with each of Indias opponents in the ongoing World Cup thus far accumulating runs against arguably the worldrsquos best bowling attack proved a big ask for Hathurusingharsquos men Much like Pakistan the Tigers had only themselves to blame after having squandered a fiery start which saw them achieve 90 for no loss after 14 overs The glue eventually dried up as Rohit Sharmarsquos bowling comrades came to the fore on a featherbed taking wickets in quick succession as a helpless Hathurusingha looked on from the boundary edgeIn reply Rohit and his predecessor Virat Kohli unleashed their wrath with the willow leaving Bangladeshis with an uphill struggle to qualify for the World Cup semifinals The players looking pale and drawn knew a third defeat was on the cards Kohli at his ominous best comfortably anchored Indias 257run chase with an unbeaten 103 as the hosts wrapped up in 413 oversWhile Mujassim was nowhere to be spotted after the defeat Faisal insisted that he does not have a problem with Bangladesh losing since India is a good team ldquoI told you before this team looks really dangerous this year We lost but we will come back stronger from here They played better cricket at least we can take delight in the fact that we were not bowled out Pakistan was all out against India laughsrdquo he remarked before disappearing into the crowd within minutes