Tigers retreat with tails between their legs! (World Cup Diary)
March 19th, 2011 - 8:30 pm ICT by IANSDhaka, March 19 (IANS) “Doura, Tiger ailo” (Run, the Tigers are coming), “Tiger khepse, Smith polaise” (Tiger is angry, so Smith has fled) - these two posters stood out from among the hundreds that spectators flaunted at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium here.
The atmosphere was euphoric in the morning session when South Africa were batting, but there was a hushed silence in the packed stadium as Bangladesh wickets fell like nine pins in the afternoon.
The posters disappeared soon, and the disappointed fans took the long way back home.
The allusion to South African skipper Graeme Smith was clear, but the Tiger imagery was pertinent for two reasons.
Large stretches of the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sunderbans — the home of the majestic Royal Bengal Tiger — lie in Bangladesh.
But more importantly, the Bangladesh cricket team is known as Tigers. In fact, the official site of the Bangladesh Cricket Board is TigerCricket.com.
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Shakib-al Hasan doesn’t give a good copy
Bangladesh skipper Shakib-al Hasan is acclaimed for his all-round on-field performance, but has never been known to be articulate. His responses often leave mediapersons stumped and frustrated as they can’t get good copy.
For instance, on the eve of his side’s crucial match against South Africa, to a question as to what Bangladesh should do to win it, Shakib’s reply was: “If we bat first, we have to get a very good total. If we bowl first, we have to restrict them.”
Mr Captain, is that an expert observation?
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March no more lucky for Bangladesh cricket team
A lot of Bangladeshi fans were banking on the month of March to bring happy tidings for the national side in the ongoing World Cup.
March has been traditionally lucky for Bangladesh in One-Day International games.
It was on March 31, 1986 — 25 years back — that Bangladesh played their first ODI against Pakistan and lost by seven wickets.
Again it was on March 17, 2007, that Bangladesh got their memorable victory against India in the World Cup held in the Caribbeans. The same month, they also defeated Bermuda.
And it was on March 11 this year that Bangladesh upset England to bolster their chances of making the quarterfinals.
But finally they ran out of luck as they went down to South Africa by a huge margin.
- Shakib apologises to fans, admits failure to handle pressure - Mar 19, 2011
- Bangladesh spoils Tendulkar's 100th international ton (Roundup) - Mar 16, 2012
- Shakib confident of pulling an upset win over South Africa - Mar 18, 2011
- Bangladesh struggles to cope with end of World Cup dream - Mar 20, 2011
- Scoreboard of South Africa's innings against Bangladesh - Mar 19, 2011
- South Africa top group, Bangladesh's World Cup dream nearly over (Round-up) - Mar 19, 2011
- Bangladesh face a daunting task in must-win match (Preview) - Mar 18, 2011
- South Africa set Bangladesh a challenging target (Lead) - Mar 19, 2011
- Graeme Smith wins toss, elects to bat - Mar 19, 2011
- Bangladesh opt to bat against West Indies - Mar 04, 2011
- Pakistan beat Bangladesh to win Asia Cup - Mar 23, 2012
- World Cup scoreboard: Bangladesh vs. South Africa - Mar 19, 2011
- Tendulkar strikes record 100th international century (Lead) - Mar 16, 2012
- Shakib turned to Hindi movie after Gayle got out - Mar 18, 2011
- Bangladesh need to start learning how to win, says Smith - Mar 19, 2011
Tags: al hasan, bangladesh cricket board, bangladesh cricket team, cricket stadium, doura, field performance, graeme smith, hushed silence, international games, legs world, majestic royal, mangrove forest, month of march, morning session, national cricket, royal bengal tiger, seven wickets, south african skipper, sunderbans, world cup diary