ICC World Cup: Bangla boys' success story of gradually wiping out the tag of underdogs

The 12th edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup will kick off on May 30 with a game between hosts England and South Africa. A total of 10 teams are taking part in this tournament the final of which will be played at the Lord’s on July 14. All the teams will be playing against each other in a round-robin format with the top four teams making it to the semifinals.

Bangladesh is one of the many Asian teams to take part in the edition. The team is participating for the sixth time in the showpiece event since they made their debut in the England WC in 1999. They went on to beat Pakistan in their debut WC and stunned India in the 2007 edition to make it to the Super Eight stage. In the 2015 edition, Bangladesh defeated England but lost to India in the quarterfinals. In total, the side has played 33 matches in the World Cup, winning 11, losing 21 while one game was inconclusive.

Here we take a look at how the side has done in the World Cup over the years:

World Cup 1999; failed to proceed beyond the group stage

Aminul Islam was the captain of Bangladesh in their maiden World Cup in England in 1999. They were clubbed in Group B with Pakistan, Australia, West Indies, New Zealand, and Scotland. Bangladesh took off with a shaky start with a 6-wicket loss against Kiwis followed by another slump to the Windies by 7 wickets. However, the debutants won two of their final three games, first stunned in-form Pakistan by 62 runs. The other team they won against was Scotland, who also made their debut in 1999 WC. Bangladesh’s third loss came against eventual champions Australia by 7 wickets and they finished fifth in the group of six.

World Cup 2003; failed to proceed beyond the group stage

Wicket-keeper-batsman Khaled Mashud was the skipper of Bangladesh in this edition played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya but they had a forgettable campaign, failing to win a single of the six group games eventually touching the rock bottom, even below Canada. Bangladesh lost to Canada by 60 runs in their first game and then was blown away by Sri Lanka by 10 wickets, thanks to the pacer Chaminda Vaas for his brilliant show with the ball against underdogs.

Their next game against the Windies was washed out by rain, which helped them finish with at least a few points. Bangladesh’s woes continued as they were next crushed by South Africa by 10 wickets followed by a 7-wicket loss to New Zealand and another disappointment against Kenya by 32 runs.

World Cup 2007; made it to Super Eight stage

This was one of Bangladesh’s best WC performances as they made it to the Super Eight stage. Bangladesh stunned India in their first match by 5 wickets which eventually saw the Men in Blue crashing out of the tournament and went on thrash debutants Bermuda by 7 wickets in Duckworth-Lewis method. Bangladesh lost to Sri Lanka in the group by 198 runs, also in Duckworth-Lewis method.

They advanced to the Super Eight stage where they were humbled by Australia by 10 wickets. They then lost to New Zealand by 9 wickets; to England by 4 wickets and even to debutants Ireland by 74 runs. They finished their disappointing run in the Super Eight by again losing to hosts West Indies by 99 runs. However, in between all the losses, Bangladesh defeated South Africa by 67 runs and it was their second biggest moment in the tournament after the win over India.

World Cup 2011; failed to proceed beyond the group stage

Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was in charge of Bangladesh who played their first WC at home in 2011 but they failed to make it count. Placed in Group B, Bangladesh met India again in the first game but this time, hosts hammered visitors by 87 runs. Bangladesh then defeated Ireland by 27 runs but was all out for just 58 against the Windies to lose by 9 wickets.

Shakib’s side then narrowly outclassed England by 2 wickets and the Netherlands by 6 wickets to keep their hopes alive. But a thrashing loss by South Africa by 206 runs in their final game swept Bangladesh aside as it damaged their net run rate beyond repair and the Windies went through despite having same points.

World Cup 2015; lost to India in quarterfinals

Mashrafe Mortaza led the team in this edition as the side played really well to reach the last eight. Placed in Group A, Bangladesh demolished debutants Afghanistan by 105 runs in their opening game and got a point from the game against Australia as it was washed out.

In the later match, they were thumped by in-form Sri Lanka by 92 runs in the second match. They then chased a 300-plus target to beat Scotland by six wickets and then registered one of their biggest wins in WC against England who they defeated by 15 runs to kick out of the tournament. Bangladesh lost their final game to New Zealand by 3 wickets. Bangladesh then met formidable India in the quarterfinals in Melbourne only to lose by 109 runs. The loss did not go down well with the Bangladesh team with even one of their top officials in the ICC quit alleging bias.

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