“It belies a 17-year-old who is showing very little respect to the elder statesman,” exclaimed Ian Bishop on air as Tamim Iqbal charged down the track to Zaheer Khan, like a marauder, and pulled a short-of-length delivery over long-on for six.
This was after he had smoked a Zaheer full delivery through extra cover for four to bring up Bangladesh’s 50 and played the following short ball past point to achieve the same result.
The freedom and authority with which Iqbal dismantled Zaheer in that spell was a telling statement on the rapid rise of Bangladesh in the world of cricket.
Iqbal was eventually dismissed for a 53-ball 51 during which he struck seven fours and two sixes, putting his team on course for a five-wicket win against heavyweight India.
Iqbal, the youngest member of the side at the time, was playing just his fifth One-Day International and had copped a blow on the neck when he attempted to take on Zaheer Khan’s shorter one. However, his response to it encapsulated Bangladesh’s poise against a team which was, until that point, touted as the outright favourite.
Captain Rahul Dravid decided to bat first at Port of Spain, but the decision turned out to be a wrong one. The sluggish nature of the pitch was disconcerting for the Indian batsmen and Mashrafe Mortaza (4/38) made early inroads. India was bowled out for 191 with only Sourav Ganguly (66) and Yuvraj Singh (47) managing some runs under their belt.
However, whatever little hopes the team had of putting on a staunch fight were soon to be nipped in the bud by a fiery onslaught from a teenager.
Comments
SHARE