Bangladesh on March 16: Breaking Sri Lanka hearts, spoiling Sachin Tendulkar’s feat
Bangladesh cricket team stunned Sri Lanka by two wickets on March 16. Six years earlier, on the same date, they had spoiled Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th international century during the Asia Cup.
Mahmudullah’s six in the fifth ball of the final over in the Nidahas Trophy clash against Sri Lanka helped Bangladesh snatch a dramatic two-wicket victory to seal their place in the final where they will take on India.
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The right-handed batsman, who stepped aside from captaincy following the return of Shakib Al Hasan, stroked a brilliant 43 off 18 balls to dump the hosts Sri Lanka out of the Nidahas Trophy 2018, a tournament that was been played to mark the nation’s 70thyear of Independence. This is not the first time that Bangladesh has played party-poopers on a big stage. The fact they achieved this on March 16 makes it even more symbolic.
The date March 16,2018 will be remembered as a sad day for Sri Lanka. However, six years before, Bangladesh had achieved something spectacular and it spoiled the achievement of one of the game’s best players.
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Sachin’s bittersweet 100th ton
On March 16, 2012, India took on Bangladesh in the Asia Cup encounter in Dhaka. For India, all eyes were on Sachin Tendulkar, who was on 99 international centuries. For over a year, the 100th century eluded Tendulkar, prolonging the agony of cricket fans from all over the world.
On that day, Tendulkar finally broke the jinx and became the first batsman in history to score 100 international centuries. His 114 helped India reach 289/7 after 50 overs but aggressive fifties from Tamim Iqbal (70), Jahurul Islam (53) and Nasir Hossain (54) kept Bangladesh in the hunt. Shakib Al Hasan (49) and Mushfiqur Rahim (46*) helped Bangladesh win by five wickets and spoil Tendulkar’s occasion.
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If March 16 is considered a great day for Bangladesh cricket, March 17 is also considered one of their best days. On this day 11 years ago, Bangladesh had defeated India by five wickets in the 2007 World Cup held in the West Indies. The loss played a huge factor in India crashing out in the first round of the tournament. With both sides set to square off in the final on Sunday, Bangladesh would be hoping to ride the momentum of past achievements and break their losing streak against India.
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