Bangladesh had come into the ongoing T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA on the back of some poor displays but since then produced three wins in four games to reach the Super Eight stage of the tournament, and are now just two wins away from a place in the last four.
In preparation of the tournament, Bangladesh played a five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, which they won 4-1, but none of their four wins were convincing, and a defeat in the final game only got the alarm bells to light up.
Those alarm bells started ringing in the three-match T20I series against the USA on the eve of the tournament as the Tigers conceded a 2-1 series defeat, losing the first two games.
Suddenly, Bangladesh had three defeats on the trot to lower-ranked opponents, the first of which was against a team that did not even qualify for the tournament.
Najmul Hossain Shanto, the Bangladesh skipper, had said ahead of the tournament to not hold huge expectations from the team, something that came into fruition courtesy of their performances leading up to the tournament.
That perception of Bangladesh failing at the World Cup only coagulated when they haplessly conceded their warm-up game against India, as Bangladesh qualifying for the Super Eight looked a distant dream, and their poor batting form throughout the line-up alongside Shoriful Islam, who was a guaranteed starter in the XI, getting injured in that game did not help their cause.
Since then, though, Bangladesh have turned things around completely. Their batting is yet to properly click even once but their bowlers have been sensational to carry them through.
First, they beat Sri Lanka, then lost by just four runs against South Africa—which involved a couple of dubious umpiring calls—and then beat the Netherlands to be on the cusp of the Super Eight stage.
And in their final game, despite the batters failing horribly again as the Tigers were bowled out for 106, their pacers rescued a 21-run win to send them through to the next stage.
The three wins meant that Bangladesh—like they often do—did not have to rely on others or wait for multiple equations to match for qualification; they reached their own accords.
The tournament is already their best-ever edition, as the Tigers had never won three games in the main stage of the tournament previously, but due to their performances, which seemingly is on an upward curve, at least the fans are now able to hope for something better against even better oppositions, in comparison to what the situation was even three weeks ago.
For Bangladesh, reaching the Super Eight was the goal, which they have achieved, and whatever happens from here on, will be a gift for them, something that will allow them to play with freedom, as per Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha.
‘When we came into the tournament, our first target was to get into this Super Eight. So, I think we achieved that,’ he said ahead of their Super Eight opener against Australia.
‘We’re very happy to be here. And then anything from here for us is a bonus. So, we play with a lot of freedom. And we are going to challenge all three teams with the best we can.’