[abherath]

Tonight, at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, the shroud that had been concealing the true face of Bangla cricket was torn away.

I, for one,was not at all surprised with the proceedings tonight. Driving home in Colombo, after work, I knew that India had not scored enough, given the fire power of Bangladesh batting and the weaknesses in Indian bowling.

For a long time now I have been noticing that Bangladesh cricket had come of age, and they were no longer minnows. It is only lack of self-belief and inability to execute plans that had stood in the way of frequent Tiger wins.

Emergence of Shakib-al-Hassan as the world's best ODI all-rounder, confident, solid performances by players like Tamim Iqbal and - since of late - an adventurous, dynamic and surprisingly articulate captain in pocket-rocket Mushfiqur Rahim have been pushing up Tiger cricket for some time, in spite of limited success due to lack of self-belief in some and errors in execution.

Given the current states of the four teams participating in the on-going Asia Cup, I would be bold enough to rank Bangladesh above India and Sri Lanka. Team India is full of holes, especially in the areas of team spirit (ironically) and bowling, while Sri Lanka's bowling has been failing consistently to deliver, adding to their woes of not having reliable big-hitters. The Pakistanis are obviously the best side but thy are known to be chokers; so if they get into a final with the Tigers - which is now looming large - I will not put it past them to grant the Tigers the win they were denied just a few nights ago.

The present Bangladesh team reminds me of Arjuna Ranatunga's team in the lead up to their famous World Cup win in 1996.

Now it is up to the team management and the think-tanks of Bangla cricket to address any gaps so that the Tigers would deliver consistently and be regarded as one of the powers in World cricket, which they really are. No better way to start than winning this Asia Cup.

Having said this, there is nothing to stop wild the celebrations raging not only across Bangladesh but also everywhere else Bangladeshis live and work. It was great to see all the jubilant faces of Bangladeshi people at the stadium tonight, on TV.

Congratulations Bangladesh ! As a Sri Lankan, I am truly happy for you.