Mortaza hails milestone victory for Bangladesh
ADELAIDE: Bangladesh’s first qualification for the knockout stages of a World Cup will prove a stepping stone for further glory, captain Mashrafe Mortaza said on Monday.
The Tigers stunned England by 15 runs to secure a quarterfinal place in a tournament at which their previous best performance was reaching the super eight stage in 2007.
They upset Pakistan in 1999 and India in 2007 but this will be the first time Bangladesh will feature in the last eight of a World Cup.
“It’s a great turnaround for us,” Mortaza told reporters after his team’s memorably victory at the Adelaide Oval.
“If I go back, I think our problem was a bit consistency, but in this World Cup, two out of these five matches we have been very consistent, and hopefully it will keep going for next few matches.
“Obviously, the boys are really happy and hope that is one of the best turns for us and the Bangladesh cricket will move from here,” said Mortaza.
“Back home, people were expecting we’d go through. But we know how difficult it was in Australia because we never played on these kind of pitches.”
The team’s victory triggered wild celebration back home and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina praised the Bangladesh players.
“We were expecting Bangladesh to win and we’ve won. We are very happy now,” said university student Samiya Zaman.
Mahmudullah posted Bangladesh’s first World Cup century with a defiant 104, reviving the innings after his team slumped to 8/2 after being sent into bat.
Mahmudullah shared partnerships with Soumya Sarkar (40) and Mushfiquir Rahim (89) to help their side overcome a poor start.
And Rubel Hossain took 4/53, including the two key wickets of Ian Bell (63) and Morgan, that helped turn the match in his team’s favour.
Mahmudullah looked a bundle of nerves approaching the 100-mark, which he eventually reached in the 44th over, scurrying for a single before embarking on an emotional celebration with Rahim.
He added another three runs before being run out after a 138ball knock that included seven fours and two sixes.
Set a modest victory target of 276, England were coasting at 121/2 halfway through their run chase before Bell’s dismissal sparked a mini-collapse of three wickets for 11 runs.
Jos Buttler gave England some hope with 65 from 52 balls and Chris Woakes continued batting with the tailenders – surviving a dropped catch in the 48th over – to remain unbeaten on 42 at the nonstriker’s end when Stuart Broad (9) and Jimmy Anderson (0) were dismissed with the first and third balls of the 49th over.
Mahmudullah said Bangladesh fielded and bowled with a winning mentality, despite posting a total they considered well below a par score for the venue.
“For us this victory is really special,” he said. “The way Rubel bowled those last two balls, was just something really special.” – Reuters, AP