bashpik
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Teen trio terrorises India
From correspondents in Port of Spain, Trinidad
March 18, 2007 TEEN Tamim Iqbal and man of the match Mashrafe Mortaza turned giant-killers to script Bangladesh's dream five-wicket victory over India in their opening World Cup Group B match today (AEDT)
Left-handed opener Iqbal, 18 on Tuesday, smashed a quickfiree 51 for his maiden half-century, as his team successfully chased a 192-run target - India's 191 was its lowest one-day score against Bangladesh - on a good Queen's Park Oval pitch.
Iqbal was not the only teen to play a big role in Bangladesh's second win over India in 15 one-dayers, as Saqibul Hasan (53) and wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim (56 not out) put on 84 for the fourth wicket.
Bangladesh plays Sri Lanka and debutant Bermuda in its next two games, while India needs to win its remaining two matches to stay in contention.
The stunning triumph was set up by Mortaza, who grabbed four wickets in a superb exhibition of fast bowling to rattle the famed India batting line-up.
India captain Rahul Dravid admitted his team faces a battle to qualify for the next round.
"Our backs are up against the wall," he said.
"It was a disappointing day. We didn't get enough runs on the board. I thought 240 would have been a good score but the wicket surprised us," said Dravid.
"Their bowlers kept it really tight and they didn't let us get away. We lost a few late wickets which could have been the difference between 20 and 30 runs.
"With another 30-40 runs, it would have been a good game." Iqbal said: "I just tried to play my natural game. I like to play my shots."
Saqibul added: "It's a good win and we knew that if we could bat 50 overs we would win."
Only Sourav Ganguly (66) and Yuvraj Singh (47) managed to keep their batting reputation intact in a nightmare for India.
It was Bangladesh's biggest day in the tournament since making its debut in 1999. It had just one win against a Test-playing nation, beating Pakistan in England, but that result later came under suspicion of match-fixing.
Habibul Bashar's side was the deserving winner today as it bowled with great discipline, fielded with enthusiasm and then batted boldly to stun its higher-ranked opponent.
Iqbal never gave the impression he was playing his fifth one-dayer as he treated the India attack with sheer contempt, hitting two sixes and seven fours in his 53-ball knock.
The pick of his shots was a huge six off left-arm fast bowler Zaheer Khan, the batsman stepping out to send the ball crashing into the stands. His audacious innings ended when he was caught behind off paceman Munaf Patel.
His blitz eventually demoralised India, which continued to struggle for wickets as Rahim and Hasan batted sensibly to ensure the efforts of Iqbal and Mortaza were not wasted.
Rahim, 18, hit his second half-century, while Hasan, 19, struck one six and five fours in his third half-century.
The morning session belonged to Mortaza, who jolted the India top order on a pitch which offered both bounce and movement. He not only took two early wickets, but also kept beating the bat during a fiery opening spell.
He was brilliantly supported by left-arm spinners Mohammad Rafique (3-35) and Abdur Razzak (3-38), on a day when Bangladesh kept the pressure on India right from the opening over.
Ganguly top-scored for India with a half-century, but even he was not allowed to score freely by the Bangladesh seamers and spinners.
Only Yuvraj Singh played with freedom, smashing a 58-ball 47. He shared a 85-run, fifth-wicket stand with Ganguly.
Mortaza and left-arm seamer Syed Rasel kept the batsmen silent during their opening spells, while Razzak and Rafique continued the good job to reduce India to 4-72.
Both teams observed a minute's silence before the match in memory of Bangladesh player Manjural Islam, who died in a road accident near Dhaka on Friday.
Reuters
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