“I would call it one of my worst days in cricket… I never thought we would lose to Bangladesh. We were not over-confident, but you do feel confident about India beating Bangladesh.”
Sachin Tendulkar has never been known for his candidness, whether during his 24-year career or after, but the former India cricketer was quite forthright when he said the above words in an interview with Mid-Day in March.
The interview was published on the 10th anniversary of India’s unceremonious exit from the 2007 World Cup after the group stage itself, following defeats to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
After the 2000 match-fixing scandal, the Caribbean World Cup debacle was probably the darkest time in Indian cricket. And at the root of the debacle was the five-wicket loss to Bangladesh.
After reaching the final of the 2003 World Cup and falling at the last hurdle, the expectations in India were high. 2007 was supposed to be India’s year. Instead, they were KO’d in the first round itself. By Bangladesh.
It didn’t matter that India had won 13 of the last 14 One-Day Internationals between the two teams before that match. This was a World Cup, and the team was kicked out in the first round. By Bangladesh.
The ego of the average Indian fan was stomped on. How dare those ungrateful overpaid cricketers do this to us?! How dare they lose to a team ranked ninth in the world?!
Houses were stoned. Effigies were burnt. “It felt as if we had committed a big crime, maybe like a murderer or terrorist or something,” said MS Dhoni, when asked about that disastrous week in 2007 and its repercussions.
That catastrophe was the catalyst to a massive upheaval in Indian cricket. The captain was sacked. The coach was sacked. The MS Dhoni era began. India won the 2007 World Twenty20, then the 2011 World Cup (beating Bangladesh along the way), and then the 2013 Champions Trophy.
Everything was bright and sunny once again. Bangladesh were but a thorn that kept pricking at India every now and then, like ruining Tendulkar’s 100th 100 party in 2012, and a few other victories here and there. But nothing like 2007.
The two teams have met three times in ICC events since the 2007 World Cup and India have emerged victorious on all occasions. However, while the 2011 World Cup clash was without any controversy, that can’t be said about the following two.
In the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup, almost exactly eight years after that 2007 meeting, the two neighbours locked horns again. India won by 109 runs, but there was widespread outrage Bangladesh over two umpiring decisions that went in favour of Dhoni’s men. ICC president at the time, Mustafa Kamal, who was a Bangladeshi government official and former BCB chief, questioned the motives of the umpires. He resigned from his post days later.
Almost exactly a year later, the two teams again met at the World Twenty20 2016, hosted by India. For 39.3 of the 40 overs played in that game, it looked like Bangladesh would be pulling one back against India. They needed two runs from three balls to knock India out of the competition in their own backyard, and had the veteran Mushfiqur Rahim on strike.
What followed was a brain-fade, to borrow from Steve Smith’s vocabulary, that eclipsed all other brain-fades: WWW.
“The loss was a shocking thing for all of us,” said Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza after the game. “Nobody wants to lose like this.”
India reached the semi-finals of the tournament, before being knocked out by eventual champions West Indies. Following India’s defeat, Rahim posted a celebratory tweet, which he later deleted after receiving a barrage of flak.
And, so, we come to the latest India-Bangladesh fixture at an ICC event. The semi-finals of the 2017 Champions Trophy. The two captains, Virat Kohli and Mortaza, have both played down past incidents and insisted that their respective teams are focused only on Thursday’s match.
“It’s been 24 months [since the 2015 World Cup] and I seriously don’t think anyone is thinking about that game,” Virat Kohli said in his pre-match press conference. “I think we have played three T20Is and three ODIs since,” Mortaza said in his address. “Obviously we have forgotten [about the past]. [Thursday] is going to be a new match.”
But will this political correctness reciprocate on the field? Recent history would not suggest so. The two captains can deny all they want that this is not a grudge match, but India versus Bangladesh is now a full-fledged cricketing rivalry. More than even India versus Pakistan in recent times.
It matters little that India have a 26-5 lead in their head-to-head record in ODIs, and 5-0 in T20Is. Bangladesh are now formidable opponents. Their team has been built around the only four members of that 2007 side that beat India who are still around: Rahim, Mortaza, Shakib al Hasan, and Tamim Iqbal.
They have beaten India, Pakistan and South Africa in ODI series since the 2015 World Cup. They are starting to trouble opposition away from home, as New Zealand found out recently. They are among the world’s top eight teams in ODIs for the first time in 11 years, currently ranked sixth. Their wins over higher-ranked opponents are now no longer upsets.
For these reasons, Kohli’s pre-match assessment of Bangladesh, where he called them “a very dangerous side on their day”, does not come across as diplomacy. Some might say Bangladesh are lucky to reach the semi-finals, having won just one match in the group stage, benefiting from other results and the weather, but Mortaza’s men showed in that solitary victory against New Zealand that they are no pushovers.
“It was outstanding the way they applied themselves [against New Zealand] and chased the total [of 265] down [after being 33/4 at one stage],” Kohli said. “They showed a lot of composure and patience. That is always the sign of a side that is mature and knows how to win matches from difficult situations...It’s no surprise to anyone anymore that they are doing really well. They are really keen to win games and that shows in their attitude.”
All India need to do to reach the final is to “play good cricket and tick all the boxes”, Kohli added. While that may be stating the obvious to the media, the India captain would be hoping his teammates are as wary of Bangladesh as he is.