Bravo! Bangladesh

  

  Bravo! Bangladesh

                       Nidhu Bhusan Das

           The Tigers of Bengladesh has shown they share with India a portion of the Sundarbons where mighty and redoubtable Royal Bengal Tigers live. At

the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru Wednesday the Tigers lost to the experience and cool planning of Indian skipper M S Dhoni in the crucial group match of the ICC World Twenty20.

  Hardik Pandya walks back to his run-up

        The Tigers had to chase just 146 on the board when they took to the wicket  and then 11 to defend in the last over. The match swung from one extreme to the other, and the Tigers had the history of winning against the terrible Pakistan Army 45 years back in their Liberation war.And March is the month signifying their   emergence as an Independent Nation.
OnWednesday they were two days away  from 26 March ,their Independence Day.They were spirited and bravely fought the battle to the end.They lost gloriously against a team which,according to erstwhile skipper of Team India Saurav Ganguly,is the strongest team in the ongoing World Cup.

         When the final over began, Bangladesh needed 11 off it. A single and two fours by Mushfiqur Rahim brought it down to just two runs off the last three balls. A moment of dramatic suspense.Hardik Pandya walked back to his run-up, the Indian captain threw the keeper's glove from his right hand.Dhoni had the correct anticipation. He expected the batsman to miss the ball and then scamper for a bye. He was getting ready to collect it in his glove-less palm and throw it at the wickets.

       Mahmudullah went for glory, hit two consecutive deliveries high in the air though playing them on the ground would have been enough. The wrong choice led to their undoing at the most crucial juncture.Now the last ball would be the decider - Bangladesh  needed 2 to win, India 1 to remain in the competition.

        Hardik Pandya walked back to his run-up, the Indian captain threw the keeper's glove from his right hand.It was a sign of what was to follow.Pandya bowled short pitched  outside the off-stump and the batsman Shuvagata Hom missed it.Dhoni was ready for the opportunity and utilized it.He collected the ball, sprinted towards the wickets and threw them down. Dhoni beat Mustafizur by just a few centimetres. The Tigers thus had to beat their breasts.

         India came close to getting knocked out at Bengaluru. The last ball of the Indian innings, when Dhoni ran for a second run made a huge difference.

       “India should, obviously, be grateful to the Bangladeshis for losing a game they should have easily won. Till the penultimate ball of the match, India seemed keen to lose the game with an uncharacteristic combination of poor batting, ordinary bowling and atrocious fielding. Whatever be the fate of this World Cup, the last over of Wednesday's match has become immortal,” go the comments.