B'desh's shocking victory over SA has opened up race for the semifinals

GEORGETOWN/GUYANA: On the eve of the match against South Africa, Bangladesh had a boisterous dinner at a tiny Indian restaurant Taj in Guyana and had a simple meal of rice, roti, mutton and omelets.

Bangla songs were being sung in the restaurant which was supposed to be closed to the public though this reporter managed to walk in. The camaraderie was simply amazing — this was an international team but the buzz around reminded one of a school team just after it has won a match.

The conversation, however, did not centre on the game. This was their time away from the game; this was their time to relax. On Saturday, South Africa, the world’s number one team, was expected to walk all over them. Bangladesh had worked out plans of their own to put up at least a decent fight but on Friday, they blocked all that out of their minds.

Throughout this World Cup, controversy has taken precedence over cricket. The only time when the world sat up and took notice of the tournament was when Bangladesh beat India and Ireland beat Pakistan in the group stage. Again, the Super 8s looked destined to be a let-down with the big teams scoring facile wins against Bangladesh and Ireland but South Africa’s loss should hopefully infuse new life into the tournament.

Level with Eng, WI

With the win, the newest Test team joins England and West Indies on two points. Two losses and two wins put South Africa on 4. Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand look destined to reach the semis but Bangladesh’s win means that the competition for the fourth slot is now wide open.

South Africa were in complete control of the game when Bangladesh were reduced to 179 for 6. But then Mohammad Ashraful played a wonderful knock of 87 from 83 balls.

“We had them under pressure at times, but we released that pressure. We finished the game badly with the ball. We never got our disciplines right and our basics throughout the day were very, very poor. If you don’t get those basics right, you can’t expect to win games,” said Graeme Smith during the post match conference.

Bound in a spin

But Smith should have had an inking of what was to come, his five-man pace attack had not had much of an impact and the pitch, by nature, suited the spinners. During the lunch break, the otherwise media-shy Ashraful  told the television crew that he hoped the spinners  would finish the job. “If our pace bowlers can do a good job early on, then I am confident our spinners can win this for us,” he had said.

His words proved to be prophetic. Syed Rasel claimed two wickets early on and as they had done against India, the stifling trio of left-arm spinners Mohammad Rafique (10-2-22-1), Abdur Razzak (9.4-1-25-3) and Saqib Al Hasan (10-0-49-2) did the damage. Between them, they bowled, 29.4 overs for 96 runs and claimed 6 wickets.

“One thing similar in them is that they are three left-arm spinners,” said skipper Habibul Bashar.

“But they are three different kinds of bowlers, and they always bowl in different kind of positions. Whenever I give them the ball they’ve always done the job for me.”

When the Bangladesh team gathered in the dressing room, they decided to keep the celebrations down to a minimum. They were already looking ahead.

“Not like India. Winning is more familiar now,” said Bashar. “We showed that we came to Super Eights not just to participate but to show that we deserve to play in the Super Eights.”

The belief in the side in incredible and perhaps every time he is asked whether Bangladesh deserve to be here, all Bashar needs to do is quote a few immortal Bob Dylan lyrics:

How many roads must a man walk down before you consider him a man

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind.