Bangladeshis brought a limousine for us to ride: The moment when Bangla Tigers stunned the mighty Aussies

Bangladesh managed to pull off one of the biggest shock ever seen in world cricket. Mohammad Ashraful scored an incredible century as Bangladesh defeated world champions Australia.

In 2005, Bangladesh were known as minnows of the game, who are trying to stamp their authority in international cricket. They were still struggling to find consistency in cricket as their team were constantly on the losing side in big games. However, Bangladesh found their groove and stunned the mighty Australians in Cardiff. The Aussie team consisted of Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Michael Clarke, and many others.

Australian team after their loss to Bangladesh. (Getty Images)

But Bangladesh managed to pull off one of the biggest shock ever seen in world cricket. Mohammad Ashraful scored an incredible century as Bangladesh defeated world champions Australia. Bangladesh needed 249-5 to chase and needed 23 off 17 balls to win the match when Ashraful departed. However, Aftab Ahmed and Mohammad Rafique held their nerves to eventually take Bangladesh to a famous victory in Cardiff.

The Bangladesh players remembered the historic win in an interview with ESPNCricInfo and here are some of the excerpts.

Aftab Ahmed – “Almost every member of that Australia side was either a legend or went on to become one - McGrath, Ponting, Hayden, Gilchrist, and Gillespie were already established stars, and then you had Hussey, Katich, and Clarke. It was an unbelievable side. But they were stunned. I think Ricky Ponting ended up smiling when it was all over. It was so shocking for them (laughs).”

Former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar said, “I don’t think Ponting imagined they would lose to us. We didn’t win anything in those days, so I think they reckoned that we would get close and lose like we often did. That was also our only worry, although it was a relaxed dressing room that day.”

However, the moment was so joyous for the Bangladeshis that Mashrafe Mortaza revealed that some of the fans brought a limousine for the team.

“Some Bangladeshis brought a limousine for us to ride around Cardiff. You know, we had just beaten the No. 1 team in the world.”

Talking about the match, legendary Australia wicket-keeper Gilchrist, said in his book True Colours: My Life by Adam Gilchrist, “It was no fluke. They outplayed us in every department. Their desperation and desire were stronger than ours. It was a horrible feeling once we were in the changing room. We knew the cricket world and all of England were laughing at us. We felt like a rabble. It was hard to fathom how we’d spiraled out of control so fast.”