Time to celebrate

Yesterday's win against England must be the considered the biggest achievement for Bangladesh cricket since their ICC Trophy win back in 1997, not mere only for the fact that they made it to the knock-out stages of the World Cup for the first time, but perhaps more importantly because they had to make it against the adversities to get there.

Going down under after a dreadful 2014 and with an unflattering record in global events, the Tigers were not expected to make much of an impression in those alien conditions. Defeats in the four practice matches only allowed detractors sharpen their knives and the International Cricket Council zoom in on the scanner. Beating the two associate nations in the pool was thought to be the least they could do to appease all of them while a win against a higher-ranked opposition was thought to be a stretch of their maximum ability.

But here the Tigers are, already in the quarterfinals with three wins out of four completed matches, making a serious statement about their ability and intent. It is not just the results in itself which makes this achievement commendable rather the way they have achieved those results that are more worthy of praise.

Here was Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, walking like a wounded warrior with braces on his knees and pain showing right through his face. But every time he took the ball in his hand, the skipper unleashed fire. Who would have thought that Bangladesh, so heavily reliant on their army of left-arm spinners, would turn the game on its head by the pace and swing of the white ball? Who would have thought that Rubel Hossain, the man embroiled in an unwanted off-field controversy right before the World Cup, would turn out to be the hero when Bangladesh were desperately looking for one? The speedster had earlier beat the Lankans in the speed-game and yesterday it was the English bowlers' turn to bow to Rubel's pace. But there was more to it than pace. Rubel worked up two vicious reverse-swings right at the death -- something which has proved to be difficult to master with two new balls even for the bests in the business – to knock off the English tail? And who would have thought that Mahmudullah Riyad, the man people took too much liking to deride rather than analyse his importance to the side, to play the most important knock in Bangladesh's ODI history? And then there was Mushfiqur Rahim – the ever so dependable and classy batsman who made batting so ridiculously easy.

It is performances like these and more that made the Tigers achieve something that was thought to be beyond their ability. Now is the time to celebrate.

Postscript: As the Tigers head back to New Zealand and into the quarterfinals with all the good vibe and confidence, it might be the easier way out to sweep under the carpet some apparent causes of concern, namely the lack of depth in batting, the haphazard state of fielding due to poor fitness levels, the inability of spinners to suit themselves on pitches which offer bounce and a bit of turn. But once the wave of euphoria subsides, these are the issues that must be addressed in order to turn these one-off moments of jubilation into regular occasions of celebration.