Banglawash!

It was a pressure cooker situation at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium when just four runs were needed off four balls. Kyle Mills, who had previously exploited the batting Powerplay at its maximum best, was looking dangerous and was all set to pull off a ripper of a match and arrest the whitewash. But it was not to be as a Rubel Hossain yorker simply dented the hopes of Kiwis and Bangladesh had completed a 4-0 whitewash.

In the morning, while the Tigers were at bay against the Kiwi attack. The Kiwis made early inroads by sending the top four Bangladeshi batsmen to the pavilion. The Bangladeshi batsmen were stiffed legged, played too many loose shots, and no urge to build partnerships, and thus, they were booked for just 174.

Confidence and determination are the things that aid a team to dream big. The Bangladeshi boys were beaming with confidence and they seemed to be determined to win this match at any cost, the perfect temperament which is needed to conquer the impossible things.

Rubel Hossain, blessed with talent and pace but not enough control, ripped through the New Zealand top order with a lively spell of pace bowling. The Kiwis were reeling at 16 for 4 – Rubel claiming all those three wickets. Ian Pont seemed to have fixed his bowling well!

At 20 for 5, Daniel Vettori, being dropped once, played with enough composure to bring the Kiwis out of the quagmire. With Elliot, Vettori essayed an 86-run stand for the sixth wicket. Bangladesh were in need of a breakthrough and who else can be better than Shakib Al Hasan? He fetched the wicket of Vettori and brought back Bangladesh into the game. 

When Nathan McCullum was castled by Shakib, the Kiwis were 119 for 7, but Elliot denied giving up. He was batting with enough confidence and tackled the left-arm spinners of Bangladesh. But Shuvo ended the gutsy knock of 59 by Elliot while Razzak trapped Mckay lbw for a duck and at 145 for 9, it seemed all over for New Zealand.

In starts the Mills show. In the batting Powerplay, with the last man Bennet who faced 11 balls but couldn’t score, Mills flexed his muscles to score runs and thus took the match down the wire.

In the last over 8 runs were needed. Shakib gave the ball to his inform paceman, Rubel Hossain. But Rubel’s first ball was dispatched for a boundary. The horrors of the last year’s tri-nation final against the Lankans were visiting again. But the third ball was a pinpoint yorker to seal an astonishing win for the Tigers.

The Tigers had scripted the Banglawash!

Thank You

Faisal Caesar