Bangladesh created history by cruising to a five-wicket win against Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Wednesday to storm into the final of Micromax Asia Cup T20 2016.
But this victory is more than the game of cricket. In fact, the episode is rather surreal.
The Tigers were carrying the momentum on their side almost throughout the match from the beginning and were looking steady at 104/4 with 26 required off 16.
But by resulting in a dramatic turnaround at the crunch time of the game, Mohammad Amir almost snatched the match away from the hosts. Though out of form, Shakib Al Hasan’s stay in the middle does make a difference. But Mohammad Amir cleaned him up in the 18th over.
The fans stood up, the roar made it look like a war front when the image of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman alias ‘Bangabandhu’ appeared on the giant screen The image earlier appeared during Pakistan’s innings as well but the timing of his arrival evoked history.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the founding leader of Bangladesh. He fought the Liberation War in 1971 against Pakistan. The revolution resulted in the independence of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh against Pakistan military who launched Operation Searchlight.
Bangabandhu became the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in 1972 but was assassinated in 1975. His daughter Sheikh Hasina is the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh, who was also present in the stadium.
This is now a popular belief among the general people of Bangladesh that their team’s historic win over Pakistan on Wednesday to win Asia Cup final berth has also brought back old memories — of freedom and independence.
Original Post: Jannatul Naym