Bangladesh’s chances of reaching the quarter-final stage at the 2015 Cricket World Cup are as high as ever; their young squad has a huge number of caps, and in Taijul Islam and Soumya Sarkar they have some truly exciting upcoming talent. However, to get through their group, victories against Afghanistan and Scotland are necessities, as well as a shock result against either New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England or even Australia. That the format means they could qualify with three defeats will give Bangladesh hope, but they will definitely be looking to build on their mediocre history at the tournament.
Bangladesh’s overall World Cup record makes grim reading: eight wins and seventeen defeats, and only one appearance in the knockout stages. On the flip side, that they have had famous victories against the likes of Australia, England and India, the new ‘Big Three’ in the ICC, shows their excellent progression as a nation.
1999 – Group Stage
Back in their days as an associate nation, Bangladesh managed to qualify for their first World Cup thanks to a semi-final victory in the ICC Trophy against Scotland. A rainy Kuala Lumpur was the site of their qualification, and it could hardly have seemed further away in their first game on cricket’s biggest stage; Chelmsford was the venue as the Tigers were skittled out for 116 by New Zealand. Courtney Walsh outclassed their batting lineup in their second game, taking 4-25 in ten overs, as the West Indies cruised to victory, but despite another average batting performance against Scotland in their third fixture, a disciplined bowling effort saw them sneak a win over Scotland. Any vague hopes of reaching the knockouts were soon dispelled as Australia knocked off their 179 target within twenty overs, but the final game would go down in Bangladeshi cricket folklore; after managing 223 batting first against Pakistan, they reduced their opponents to 42-5, and despite rearguard action from Pakistan’s tale, Bangladesh held on, and mad celebrations followed at Northampton.
2003 – Group Stage
By then a full member of the ICC, Bangladesh were thoroughly embarrassed with their 2003 World Cup performance. The Tigers failed to pass 200 in the whole tournament, and were humbled in their opening game against Canada. But for rain saving them against West Indies, Bangladesh would undoubtedly have lost all six pool games, and a ten-wicket defeat to South Africa was the nadir of the tournament. Having struggled to 108 all out in thirty-five overs, Bangladesh then watched Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs knock off the runs in just twelve overs. In the game against Sri Lanka, Chaminda Vaas took a hat-trick with the first three balls of the game, and the Tigers were 5/4 after one over. It was a thoroughly embarrassing campaign for all involved.
Bangladesh were simply terrible.
You cannot have teams in world cricket that are a laughing stock and they need to pull their socks up.
2007 – Super Eight
Bangladesh’s best World Cup performance in terms of stage reached was in 2007, despite winning just three out of their nine games. The format of the tournament was meant to increase the number of games for the subcontinent teams, and ensure the ‘minnows’ were eliminated early. However, the organisers were left with egg on their face after Pakistan and India were both knocked out at the first stage due to defeats to Ireland and Bangladesh respectively. In the Tigers’ first game, an Indian collapse from 157/4 to 159/9 meant that the ‘lesser’ nation, led by Habibul Bashar, were in with a great shout. Needing 192 to win, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim both batted excellent to steer the Tigers to a five-wicket victory. A Sanath Jayasuriya masterclass saw a crushing defeat to Sri Lanka in the second game, but a routine seven-wicket win against associates Bermuda meant a Super Eight berth was secured. However, similarly to 2003, feeble batting cost the Tigers in the Super Eights. Their only respectable batting performance came against South Africa, which they won thanks to Mohammed Ashraful’s masterful 87. However, the other games of that stage ended in defeat, including to Ireland; it was clear that the batting line-up was slightly too inexperienced to make a major impact.
2011 – Group Stage
Bangladesh failed to qualify for the quarter-finals in 2011 only by the virtue of net run-rate; in fact, but for an embarrassing defeat to the West Indies, they would have had a great chance of making it through. As co-hosts along with Sri Lanka and India, Bangladesh were able to play all their games on home pitches, but a comprehensive defeat to India, who racked up 370/4 in the first game of the tournament, looked to be a bad sign of things to come. And after scraping past Ireland thanks to Shafiul Islam’s 4-21, the biggest humiliation in Bangladesh’s recent history occurred as they were bowled out for just 58 by West Indies’ attack of Kemar Roach, Sulieman Benn and Darren Sammy. Ugly scenes followed, as the West Indies’ team bus was stoned by raucous Tigers fans, but in the next game, everything changed.
Disciplined bowling saw Bangladesh restrict England to 225 all out, and Imrul Kayes (60) anchored the chase, as the Tigers scraped home with two wickets and one over remaining. Kayes’ unbeaten 73 in the following game against the Netherlands meant that Bangladesh were in a must-win position for the final group game against South Africa. However, after Jacques Kallis, Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla all passed fifty, Bangladesh’s attempt at chasing 285 was abject; only Shakib al Hasan (30) made double figures, as another pathetic batting performance had seen the Tigers slip to 36/5 before their eventual total of 78 all out.
As a result, Bangladesh missed out on a last-eight place to the West Indies, and were left to rue two abject batting displays, which ultimately cost them.
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that poor batting performances have been Bangladesh’s Achilles’ Heel in Cricket World Cup history; their technical ability has come into question too many times, and inconsistent batting has meant that they have struggled to stamp their authority onto the 50-over game.
However, in 2015, with an exciting crop of batsmen such as Shakib al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque, as well as plenty of different bowling options, will Mashrafe Mortaza’s sides’ fortunes change?
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