Bangladesh impresses with remarkable fightback to battle past Canada

[Miraz]

Canada brought back the memories of World Cup 2003 to most part of the game in a very well fought encounter at Antigua Recreation Ground in the third and final ODI of ICC tri-series. Chasing a victory target of 279 in 50 overs, Canada went as far as 265/7 in stipulated 50 overs. They fell short of 13 runs at the end in a match which could have been won by any team. Bangladesh made an exceptional comeback to deny Canada a very well deserved win. At the end, the experienced Bangladesh side saved the blushes by some intelligent bowling from their slow left arm bowlers.

Canada defied all odds during the run chase and an impressive 177 run 2nd wicket partnership between GEF Barnett and IS Billcliff put them in a very commanding position. This pair had no problem whatsoever in milking the runs. Sakib Al Hasan produced the most vital breakthrough of the match by removing GEF Barnett. His departure sparked a mini collapse and Canada lost the momentum as both IS Bilcliff and Captain JM Davison departed in quick succession. Despite the wicket fall Canada maintained the run chase and it was anybody's game. Ashif Mulla quick fired 44 of 36 deliveries to set up an exciting finish. Finally, Bangladesh being more experienced of the two side kept their head cool and won the match in a tense finish by 13 runs. Canada faltered at the end and despite having wickets in hand failed to reap from its earlier build up to record an upset victory.

Earlier, Canada won the toss and Bangladeh to bat. The decision paid immediate dividend when veteran Andy Cummins plucked two quick wickets to reduce Bangladesh to an embarrassing 4/2. Both Aftab and Shahriar Nafees edged the very first delivery they faced. They were reduced to 30/3 after Tamim Iqbal got run out. Captain Habibul Bashar paired up with in form batsman Sakib Al Hasan and took the score to 162 in 37 overs. Bashar fell after a well composed 57. Mohammad Ashraful joined Sakib Al Hasan and this pair scored run freely to post 278/5 in 50 overs. On the way, Sakib earned his maiden ODI ton, Ashraful reached a quick fire half century from just 38 balls. He got out for 60 runs in the last ball of the match. Sakib remained not out for a very well played 134*. In this process, he superseded Shahriar Nafees's 123 to post the highest individual ODI score for Bangladesh.

It was a great recovery from a tattering start. Sakib showed why he is considered as one of the brightest prospect of Bangladesh cricket. Captain Habibul Bashar again showed the value of experience in putting up a valuable 4th wicket partnership with sakib. Finally Ashraful scored some good runs which helped Bangladesh to post a very commanding total which at the end proved just sufficient to edge past Canada.

Todays match was a great display of one day cricket and both teams had their time in the middle. From a Canadian point of view it set an ideal platform for some good performances in the upcoming world cup and it send some clear message to other members of group C in which Canada is placed with England, New Zealand and Kenya. From Bangladesh's perspective it was a great display of character to upturn the fate of the game despite trailing in most part of the proceedings.

Bangladesh has lot to gain from todays win. Someone might dubb the hard fought win as the below par performance against a minnow nation but in a real sense it game Bangladesh an ideal practice for the world cup where they are targeting second round berth. Canada in recent past enjoyed some good moments in batting and scored consistently over 250 in their last few ODI's. They had a memorable run chase of 309 against Ireland in recently concluded World Cricket League in which they succeeded loosing only 4 wickets. This clearly indicates their strength and depth of batting. They again proved their might today. On the other hand, Bangladesh in both batting and bowling came back strongly from the brink of failure. This was a really impressive show from a regularly improving side.


Bangladesh took the ICC tri series as part of the world cup preparation and I have to admit that it could not have gone any better. After showing the batting and bowling might against the hapless Bermuda, Bangladesh showed the maturity of an international side in todays win. They were taken to the wire by the Canadians but at the Bangladesh had the last laugh due to some superior understanding of the situation. Another positive out of todays win is the exposure of the weak points of Bangladesh which they have the opportunity to rectify in the two warm up matches before the gala event. At the end, I must congratulate Bangladesh team for their fighting spirit which kept the head of the fans high ahead of crucial world cup ties.

[Miraz]

This is my view about todays match and I feel Bangladesh deserve some praise for showing lot of character under difficult situation.

Your views can certainly differ.

[shujan]

What a fantastic win for Bangladesh! I am proud of the team. This match shows that Bangladesh is becoming a mature cricket team. Comparing this game in context of stronger competitor many times Bangladesh has come so close of upsetting better opponent like Pakistan and Australia. Somehow Pakistan and Australia were able to get a win on those situation using their experience and skill. Bangladesh showed the same skill level and temperament against Canada today. Canada team is stronger then Zimbabwe and Kenya as they are consists of Ex WI allrounder. This win feels really good.

[nmhimal]

yeah me too, i am happy with the ending, the way we have won the match, it is nice, it is nice to see our batsmen are on runs, any way it is true a win is a win, doesn't matter its come in a single run or 200 runs. waiting for the next match again NZ.

[Rubu]

What made Bangladesh will today is the fact that they have own most of the games they played in past few months. Confused? Its calls the winning habit. It is a mind set that when playing against these team, we win. Whatever it takes. This made them win the hard fought game against ZIM and today. They learned to keep their nerve cool in a hard situation. This is the main positive (along with Shakib's performance) of today's game in oceans of all the negatives.

[khalifa]

"Canada brought back the memories of World Cup 2003 to most part of the game in a very well fought encounter at Antigua......"

Shotti koira bolen Miraz Bhai, apnar kharap lage nai BD has not progressed much since WC 03? Ekta non-professonal team......monta amar aj dukkhe bhora.......

[ialbd]

well compiled Miraz Bhai.....

[Outswinger]

What fightback ? We almost lost again .

[gatekeeper]

Well written Miraz. Can't agree with all of it though. While I do rejoice in the way they faught back they never should've been in that predicament in the first place. Our road to WC glory seems fraught with peril.

[roc]

Originally Posted by gatekeeper
Well written Miraz. Can't agree with all of it though. While I do rejoice in the way they faught back they never should've been in that predicament in the first place. Our road to WC glory seems fraught with peril.

i think bangladesh played very well today. they showed the fighting spirit that needed a win matches. just because canada almost beat bangladesh does not mean bangladesh sucks. like wise, just because we won against Australia does not make us better than Australia. the most possitive out of this game is that bangladesh learning how to win close games.

[capslock]

Yeah, it was a good match to have rather than one where we just roll over a minnow, it's fights like these that will toughen us for the real challenge that lies ahead. Well played Canucks!

[shujan]

Originally Posted by gatekeeper
Well written Miraz. Can't agree with all of it though. While I do rejoice in the way they faught back they never should've been in that predicament in the first place. Our road to WC glory seems fraught with peril.

What is the basis of making such assumption 'they never should've been in that predicament in the first place. '? May I ask?

[shujan]

In sports when a weak team plays a stronger team they usually put up a good fight, at the end stronger team get win and weaker team go home with pride. That is the sports all about. Canada should be applauded for their good showing. That does not mean Bangladesh win is any lesser.

[cricket_king]

Well played canada.
I must say that bangladesh doesnt look like they're going to the second round. I'm surprised people are actually appluading the fact that we faught back from that stage. IT WAS A MUST FOR US TO FIGHT BACK!! As gatekeeper mentioned above, we should not have been in that predicament.......especially because we are a test nation.

[layperson]

I am relieved for the win but the situation should not have gone where it did. There are two ways to look at it. I could be disappointed with it that the showing was not as strong as expected. ON the other hand I could see it as good chance to show our ability to stay focused and fight back to win the match in the end. I think I will go for the second one. Moreover the fact that this happend in the practice match is a blessing in disguise for us I think. We would be more careful in the WC matches now whereas winning this easily might have put fasle confidence and made the team complacent. Fighting back and winning in the end is more important because even we have given big teams a run for their money even though we are not as good as them. So it was natural for Canada to come out trying to cause an upset. The big plus I think is Ashraful's knock. I hope he can carry it on. This just goes to show that 6 is the best spot for him now. ONce bashar retires he can come in at 5. Comparison between Rana and Sakib should end right here after this showing. Someone on this forum has said that sakib is like dravid. While I would not go that far but yes he is our version of dravid. He is doing very well and is turning out to be a wonderful allrounder in the shorter version of the game. Our fielding needs to become better and I have a feeling that we will do pretty good against NZ in the warm up. I might even bet on an uset win although many people would be skeptical about this statement.

[Kabir]

Originally Posted by shujan
What is the basis of making such assumption 'they never should've been in that predicament in the first place. '? May I ask?

BD - test playing nation; belongs to elite group of cricket playing nations;
CAN - associate member

Having said that, CAN did well coz of their imported players. Nothing else. But BD should've played better...coz two of today's CAN glories are NZ domestic players. If domestic players are that good, I don't know how WC preparation match with NZ will go.

[kalpurush]

Originally Posted by cricket_king
Well played canada.
I must say that bangladesh doesnt look like they're going to the second round. I'm surprised people are actually appluading the fact that we faught back from that stage. IT WAS A MUST FOR US TO FIGHT BACK!! As gatekeeper mentioned above, we should not have been in that predicament.......especially because we are a test nation.

Cricket is a funny game!...in any day any team can win......
I agree that Canada played well...but not very well....they lost a winning match!!!!!
And....there is no set rules that better ranked team should win all the time....
Finally....a win is a win, period.

[kalpurush]

Originally Posted by Rubu
What made Bangladesh will today is the fact that they have own most of the games they played in past few months. Confused? Its calls the winning habit. It is a mind set that when playing against these team, we win. Whatever it takes. This made them win the hard fought game against ZIM and today. They learned to keep their nerve cool in a hard situation. This is the main positive (along with Shakib's performance) of today's game in oceans of all the negatives.

That's a very strong positive point....winning habit .....

[Dhakablues]

What were you smoking when you wrote this? Hello? Its Canada? Winning habit or not,, so are you suggesting that you should rather be satisified by "still mixing with the minnow?' I would rather still be losing with Australia than winning against Canada 10 times. Because the 11th time I am sure I can give Australia run for their win.. by winning 11 games against Kenya/Zimbabwe/Scottland/Bermuda gave us barely win against Canada... If you are raising the bar,,You remain sub-par. And I think we are seeing how this self-congratulating attitude of "winning habbit" is eating us up to give a false sense of supremecy which we dont actually have. Its almost like we are the 2nd Division Champs,, and would want to be that way with 1000 wins than moving up to the Premier League.

[cricket_king]

Originally Posted by shahriyar
I am relieved for the win but the situation should not have gone where it did. There are two ways to look at it. I could be disappointed with it that the showing was not as strong as expected. ON the other hand I could see it as good chance to show our ability to stay focused and fight back to win the match in the end. I think I will go for the second one. Moreover the fact that this happend in the practice match is a blessing in disguise for us I think. We would be more careful in the WC matches now whereas winning this easily might have put fasle confidence and made the team complacent. Fighting back and winning in the end is more important because even we have given big teams a run for their money even though we are not as good as them. So it was natural for Canada to come out trying to cause an upset. The big plus I think is Ashraful's knock. I hope he can carry it on. This just goes to show that 6 is the best spot for him now. ONce bashar retires he can come in at 5. Comparison between Rana and Sakib should end right here after this showing. Someone on this forum has said that sakib is like dravid. While I would not go that far but yes he is our version of dravid. He is doing very well and is turning out to be a wonderful allrounder in the shorter version of the game. Our fielding needs to become better and I have a feeling that we will do pretty good against NZ in the warm up. I might even bet on an uset win although many people would be skeptical about this statement.

I cannot agree with that. Dravid is a very boring player. He doesnt ever seem to excite anyone apart from few occassions. Sakib gets his runs quite fluently from what i've seen in the past few games.

[layperson]

Originally Posted by cricket_king
I cannot agree with that. Dravid is a very boring player. He doesnt ever seem to excite anyone apart from few occassions. Sakib gets his runs quite fluently from what i've seen in the past few games.

How can you say dravid is a boring player !!! He used to be a bit too slow earlier but for the last couple of years he has been almost perfect. When I said sakib is our version of dravid i meant his scoring style is similar to dravid. Neither of them are big hitters and rely on timing and placement for runs.

[zia]

Well done Banglaedesh and very well done, Sakib. Sakib made the difference between loosing and winning. I have not seen any one so matured as a batsman in BD side.

[cricket_king]

Originally Posted by shahriyar
How can you say dravid is a boring player !!! He used to be a bit too slow earlier but for the last couple of years he has been almost perfect. When I said sakib is our version of dravid i meant his scoring style is similar to dravid. Neither of them are big hitters and rely on timing and placement for runs.

Your right about the similar style part. IMO, dravid is one of the world's most boring players.

[nmhimal]

Originally Posted by Kabir
BD - test playing nation; belongs to elite group of cricket playing nations;
CAN - associate member

Having said that, CAN did well coz of their imported players. Nothing else. But BD should've played better...coz two of today's CAN glories are NZ domestic players. If domestic players are that good, I don't know how WC preparation match with NZ will go.

Umar Bhatti
Born January 4, 1984, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Current age 23 years 56 days
Major teams Canada

Anderson Cummins
Born May 7, 1966, Packers Valley, Christ Church, Barbados
Major teams Canada, West Indies, Barbados, Durham, Surrey
this guy played 5 test matches for WI

John Davison
Born May 9, 1970, Campbell River, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Current age 36 years 296 days
Major teams Canada, South Australia, Victoria
This guy born in British Colombia, he moved to Australia as a child, playing grade cricket in Melbourne and attending the Australian Cricket Academy in 1993. he was a member of the Victoria state squad for several years but was unable to secure a regular first-team slot and after being released by them he joined South Australia in 2002-03.


Henry Osinde
Born October 17, 1978, Uganda
Major teams Canada

Sunil Dhaniram
Born October 17, 1968, Port Mourant, Berbice, Guyana
Major teams Canada, Guyana

George Codrington
Born November 26, 1966, Barbados
Major teams Canada


Abdool Samad
Born May 3, 1979, Guyana
Major teams Canada


Geoff Barnett
Born February 3, 1984, Nelson, New Zealand
Major teams Canada, Central Districts, Central Districts Under-17s
this guy was born, raised and lives in New Zealand, but his mother had been born in Canada


Ashish Bagai
Born January 26, 1982, Delhi, India
Major teams Canada


Ian Billcliff
Born October 26, 1972, William's Lake, British Columbia
Major teams Canada, Auckland, Otago, Wellington
Ian Billcliff was born in British Columbia, but grew up in Otago, New Zealand,
where he learned his cricket. He made his debut for Otago in 1990-91,
and made an immediate impression as a hard-hitting batsman,
playing twice for New Zealand Under-19s


Ashif Mulla
Born May 5, 1980, Gujarat, India
Major teams Canada, Americas Under-19s

this are the 11 player played against bangladesh for canada, none of them are real canadian,
so what you think now? it was not a easy game.

[Ejaj]

Originally Posted by Dhakablues
What were you smoking when you wrote this? Hello? Its Canada? Winning habit or not,, so are you suggesting that you should rather be satisified by "still mixing with the minnow?' I would rather still be losing with Australia than winning against Canada 10 times. Because the 11th time I am sure I can give Australia run for their win.. by winning 11 games against Kenya/Zimbabwe/Scottland/Bermuda gave us barely win against Canada... If you are raising the bar,,You remain sub-par. And I think we are seeing how this self-congratulating attitude of "winning habbit" is eating us up to give a false sense of supremecy which we dont actually have. Its almost like we are the 2nd Division Champs,, and would want to be that way with 1000 wins than moving up to the Premier League.

Nothing further can be said about your comments. You r a true Bangali. Always day dreaming and unhappy with whatever is achieved. Always underming someone else's effort.
However, I would like to congratulate BD for bringing up the win. It was a good fight for the team and the team proved (at least to me), that, we are definitely above than associate level.