Bangladeshis weep from joy for their cricket victory over Pakistan
The Tigers, Bangladesh’s national cricket team, beat Pakistan. In 2012, they had suffered a crushing defeat. Cricket is a very popular sport in the South Asian country. Past defeats against Pakistan plunged fans in despair. Prime Minister Hasina, who was present at the match, waved the national flag after the victory. Bangladesh is now in the final against India.
Dhaka (AsiaNews) - Millions of Bangladeshi fans yesterday celebrated their cricket team’s victory over Pakistan. Nicknamed the Tigers, the Bangladeshi team won by five wickets*, thus booking a place in Asia Cup final against India next Sunday (6 March).
When the team won, even Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was watching the match with her family, burst into tears from joy, and waved the national flag. For many people, the prime minister's presence boosted the team’s spirit, contributing to the victory.
“It was not the final [match], but our prime minister wanted to be present,” said journalist Fazlul Bari. “Why shouldn’t our team go forward? I want to express my gratitude for her encouragement of our Tigers."
Millions of viewers watched yesterday’s much anticipated match. In Bangladesh, cricket is a popular sport and the Tigers’ loss to Pakistan in 2012 plunged the country in despair.
Mahmudullah Riyadh, an all-rounder** was part of the team that lost that year. However, after yesterday’s win, he said, "The final of the Asia Cup in 2012 was on my mind, but this win will help us forget that.”
Cricket is one of the most popular sports in South Asia and the second in the world for number of fans. Since 2007, the International Cricket Council has organised an international championship of Twenty20 cricket, sometimes called Twenty-20, or abbreviated to T20, a shorter form of cricket, lasting three to four hours, rather than the five consecutive days of the One Day International.
This year, Bangladesh is hosting the Asia Cup T20, which includes India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates, at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.
With yesterday's victory, the country has something to cheer about, with thousands of people taking to the streets to celebrate. In the capital’s campuses, university students also joined in the atmosphere of euphoria.
Mukul Falia, a Catholic cricket fan, spoke to AsiaNews about the victory. "We cried, not for any loss, but out of great happiness,” he said. “Usually we never hear good news about our underdeveloped country; however, this time the Tigers made us happy. We thank them and shall support them through our prayers."
* A wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch.
** An all-rounder is a cricketer who performs well at both batting and bowling.
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