Bangladesh return to a heroes’ welcome after World Cup campaign

They may have been defeated in the quarterfinal but Bangladesh could still hold their heads high for the most successful World Cup campaign as they have been welcomed back home like heroes.

Sports Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 22 March 2015, 02:44 PM
Updated : 22 March 2015, 07:36 PM

Thousands of fans thronged the Shahjalal International Airport when Mashrafe Bin Mortaza’s team arrived at 7:30pm on Sunday.

The team was greeted with garlands by the directors and members of Bangladesh Cricket Board.

The Tigers achieved their goal of reaching the knockout stage in the showcase event beating Afghanistan, Scotland and England and sharing points with co-hosts Australia in a washed-out tie on their way.

Photo: asaduzzaman pramanik/ bdnews24.com

Photo: asaduzzaman pramanik/ bdnews24.com

They lost the quarterfinal against reigning champions India thanks to some controversial umpiring decisions.
Had Rohit Sharma not got a shocking no-ball reprieve when on 90, it would have been a different story.
Only a handful would have put their money on the Tigers in mid-2014 after they crashed out of Asia Cup, Twenty20 World Cup with defeats against the Associates Afghans and Hong Kong.
After their rout of Zimbabwe in Tests and ODIs alike, the Tigers earned back their fans’ respect.
They lost all four warm-ups in Australia turning their World Cup opener against Afghanistan into a pressure match once again.
But they humbled the Afghans, trouncing them by 105 runs and went on to beat Scotland comprehensively chasing a huge target of 319.

Photo: asaduzzaman pramanik/ bdnews24.com

Photo: tanvir ahammed/ bdnews24.com

The high of their competition came when they knocked England out in a historic win by 15 runs at the Adelaide Oval to progress to the quarterfinals, marking the biggest achievement in their cricket history.
They gave co-hosts New Zealand a run for their money and were well prepared for a showdown against the defending champions.
Mashrafe and Co were doing quite well when a controversial height no-ball decision by on-field umpires broke the Tigers psychologically and they were beaten by 109 runs.
Despite not being able to progress to the semis, they won the hearts of millions of cricket fans.
A huge crowd showed up to greet the Tigers on Sunday.

Photo: asaduzzaman pramanik/ bdnews24.com

Photo: asaduzzaman pramanik/ bdnews24.com

“The skills the Tigers showed in their game are exceptional in Bangladesh’s cricket history,” said ‘Tarin’, a student of Uttara Women’s Medical College who came to congratulate the team.
The airport area was buzzing with supporters – young and old.
They held up placards reading ‘Amra harini, amra jitechhi’ (we didn’t lose, we won), ‘Mashrafe-der shubhechha’ (congratulations to Mashrafe and team)’.