Tigers do it again

Photos: AFP

I congratulate Dave Whatmore for his contribution to the team. He's the man behind the triumph. He transformed Bangladesh from a weeping boy to a vigorous young man capable of tarnishing the reputation of the mighty opponents. He's the messiah of Bangladesh cricket who pulled the team to a smooth path. Bangladesh won 8 ODI matches during his time. He has changed the mindset of the players. He's the wizard.

I congratulate the team.
Soon Bangladesh will win Test matches along with ODIs.

We have defeated all the world champions, except West Indies. So it's West Indies' turn to lose to us in the very near future! We have been showered with a lot of criticism by other cricket teams, especially England. I do hope that day is not far away when we will beat England, and will justify our Test status as an effective member of ICC. Many famous cricketers (Like Dennis Lee of Australia) despised us in the yesteryears, but we have responded to them by defeating their own country.

I hope and expect that the boys will maintain their consistency in the days ahead. Last, but not least, an humble suggestion for other teams "Don't try to experiment with Bangladesh." It could be very costly!

Sweet Dept of English, RU

After a poor show in the First ODI against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh Cricket team was well prepared to pay back the debts to the enthusiastic cricket fans of this country. History was made on the newly prepared venue of Bogra when the Tigers beat the former world Champions Sri Lanka for the first time.

It was really a well-deserved victory for the Tigers.

Batting, bowling & fielding --in every department our boys simply outplayed the Lankans.

Once again they have proved that they have the potential to beat any team on their day. I would like to congratulate the Tigers for giving us this victory in this great month of February.

Coach Dav Whatmore and Chief Selector Farooq Ahmed deserve applause for converting this team slowly but surely into a winning unit.

The Tigers should not be carried away by this win.

I hope they will once again come up with all the guns blazing to do something special for us yet again!

We all are looking forward to that happening!

Nazmus Saquib Notre Dame College, Dhaka

The ODI victory of the cricketers against Sri Lanka forced me to write again to you to congratulate them heartily. Once again, the Tigers have proved the critics wrong by displaying skill, passion and talent in the second ODI against Sri Lanka at Shaheed Chandu Stadium.

I especially take the honour of congratulating Dav Whatmore and the match winners Javed Omer, Ashraful, Aftab, Basher and co.

Mohammed Fahim Hara Dhaka

It was Wednesday, 22 February, 2006. Unfortunately, electricity was not available on RUET campus. At 10 o'clock in the morning we were waiting anxiously for restoration of power. What could we do? The cricket match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka was on. We were waiting at the TV room of our hall. But no views were available as there was no electricity. About 50 students were present at the TV room. One of our friends brought a radio. We started hearing. Hurrah! Out! Catch! We won the match. Congratulations, Bangladesh!

Sadat Shahriar, RUET

Congratulations to the Bangladesh cricket team for winning the second one-dayer at Bogra. In the past 15 years of being an avid follower of cricket fortunes of almost all the Test and one-day playing nations, I have a bit of advice/comments.

Whenever I hear comments from the cricket fraternity about dropping Bangladesh from the "regular" Test playing nations, it feels a little odd. For one, these same nations came through quite a horrendous history.

Not very long off, Sri Lanka had a bad time on the field (when they started their cricket history in the early eighties). Bangladesh cricket does not do itself a bit of justice by losing matches by whopping margins.

But then, given that there is no shortage of talent and enthusiasm for the game (akin to that for football), things will soon change for the better. That has been evidenced by the under-19 team's performance in the recent World Cup.

Despite losing in the quarter-finals stage, the team did evoke a sense of uncertainty and uneasiness in the opponents (like England). That is wonderful news! It is not very difficult to envision the day when the

same could be said of the regular teams. Note that there was a time when the Ceylon cricket team could hardly compete with the Tamil Nadu team in the Gopalan trophy matches. Things change as talent rises to the top.

The only way this can be done is if the Bangladesh cricket board studies the development of Sri Lankan cricket at the grassroots level, borrows their

strategies and leverages and adapt them to the Bangladesh setting. The other thing that could help us is if people get used to Bangladesh winning and not treat it as a kind of Kumbh-Mela-like thing. That will inculcate in itself a culture of winning.

I am sure like Sri Lanka and many others before them (like India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Zimbabwe), one day Bangladesh will become a de-facto respected member of the cricket community. And of course, it is these countries that feel a sense of de javu with their own cricketing histories. To the players, I wish them good luck, and hopefully I will see many more victories on the cricket field. And to the cricket supporters, get used to the "thing"! And yeah, do not worry about the nonsense emanating from folks like Ponting.

Stan Madison, WI, USA

It is never easy being a BD Cricket fan. It can make you a heart-patient.

This team plays 10 matches without even as much as giving a hint that it can play cricket. And just when the fans are starting to despair, comes back with a bang and upsets the applecart. It doesn't matter whose applecart is it, on that day.

I stayed up until 3:00am watching the match on internet 'live-streaming' and enjoyed it with BD fans on Bangladesh Cricket Discussion forums. It often surprises me to even recall when was the last time I stayed up so late to watch an India game. Yes, I am an Indian and no - I am not about to change my passport anytime soon. It is just that I wanted this team to win - desperately win - win damn it.

And till I decided to go to bed, they had done enough to raise hopes. And also to dent some!

BD fans are the most passionate supporters of their team. If there is one thing I have started to hate and fear most (besides the lizard on my hostel wall a few years back), it is seeing that sad and resigned look on the faces of BD fans every time BD loses a match. It is not difficult to see that expression at other times too - say at the fall of Ashraful's wicket for example.

When I woke up this morning, I just hoped I wouldn't see a headline like "Bangladesh lose again". They just didn't deserve that. At least not by the way that they had played until I had decided to go to bed. And boy they amazed me - the only thing I could think of at that moment is that famous "BD players doing somersaults" on the ground and fans flocking the street in jubilation comparable to none.

This was a hard earned win - no flash in the pan and not attributed to any particular individual. While bowling, Rasel started it, Kapali gave it the boost, Aftab sustained it, and Rafique & Mashrafe gave the decisive push. While batting, the openers played the most interesting style that I'll see - "You beat me, I hit you for four and then you beat me again". It is as if it was a staged drama. And it seemed well staged until two quick wickets soon after raised the memories of many of the earlier losses. I didn't follow after that but I read the analysis and it seems that while Ashraful's knock was the key component, the decisive partnership between Aftab and Kapali sealed the match. Bangladesh have just lost Ashraful and are 5-wickets down and need more than 50 to win at almost run a ball - any other day it may sound like there was only one outcome. Thankfully, no one told Aftab and Alok about it.

A historic win it is and a fully deserved one too. And at just the right time.

Good Luck, Bangladesh Cricket Team.

Surendra Shukla Florida, US