Bangladesh achieved a milestone on Wednesday (August 10) in addition to defeating Zimbabwe to avert a clean sweep. The Bangladesh men’s cricket team became the tenth cricketing nation to play 400 ODI matches after making their ODI debut on March 31, 1986. The team Tigers has seen many highs and lows over the past 36 years, but it is commonly known that the majority of their success has come in the one-day format. Bangladesh’s journey to 400 ODI matches is discussed in this article.
Early years of the Bangladesh national ODI team
Bangladesh’s journey in ODI cricket started during the Asia Cup in 1986 when they faced Pakistan at the Tyronne Fernando Stadium in Moratuwa. The Gazi Ashraf Hossain-led Bangladesh ODI team lost the contest against Imran Khan-led Pakistan by 7 wickets. In the early years, Bangladesh used to compete primarily in the Asia Cup cricket competition, where they frequently suffered crushing defeats at the hands of Asian powerhouses.
Bangladesh took part in eight different competitions before eventually registering their first-ever ODI victory on May 17, 1998, in the Coca-Cola Triangular series against Kenya. They overcame the Kenyan national side by 6 wickets. Before that, Bangladesh had lost 22 straight one-day internationals, including six losses against India.
Read Shakib cancels contract with Betwinner News after BCB warning
Champions of the ICC Trophy and obtaining ODI status
Cricket in Bangladesh was significantly impacted by the 1997 ICC Trophy. The national team of Bangladesh won the ICC Trophy ’97 by defeating Kenya by two wickets (D/L method) in the championship match, securing their spot in the 1999 ICC ODI Cricket World Cup.
For the first time, Bangladesh successfully won the major competition for associate nations of the International Cricket Council. They subsequently earned the opportunity to participate in ODIs as regular ICC members.
Bangladesh’s first appearance in the ICC ODI World Cup
Bangladesh made their first appearance in the 50-over format World Cup in the 1999 edition. They shocked Pakistan by 62 runs while defeating Scotland by 22 runs in the World Cup 99 group stage. The victory over Pakistan was a significant turning point in Bangladesh’s cricket history because it was the first time the Tigers had defeated an ICC full member team in an ODI.
Read BCB to Shakib: Quit Betwinner News or get out of national team
The Roaring Tigers defeated Pakistan on May 31, 1999, at the County Ground in Northampton, and the entire country celebrated in jubilation. Eventually, Bangladesh’s first World Cup campaign came to an end with two victories and three losses, placing them fifth in group B.
Bangladesh’s noteworthy victories in ODIs (2000–2014)
The Bangladesh national side had to wait five years to record their fourth victory in the One-Day International format since their historic victory against Pakistan in the 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup. They defeated Zimbabwe by 8 runs in a bilateral ODI series game at the Harare Sports Club in March 2004.
One year later, in January 2005, Bangladesh won their first ever bilateral ODI series. They beat the Zimbabwean side 3-2, securing a historic ODI series win. In the same year, Bangladesh defeated the world champions Australia at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens in a Natwest Series game by a margin of five wickets. Mohammad Ashraful made his name by scoring a spectacular hundred in the game.
Read Asia Cup 2022: Who are favourites to lift the trophy?
In the following years, Bangladesh achieved many important victories, including wins over South Africa and India in the 2007 World Cup; victories over West Indies and New Zealand in multiple ODI series; and a victory against England in a 2011 World Cup group match.
However, the 2012 Asia Cup final appearance was Bangladesh’s most remarkable accomplishment. They qualified for the title game after defeating India and Sri Lanka in the group stage, but they fell short of Pakistan by two runs. After coming so close to winning an Asia Cup competition but falling short, the entire country was heartbroken.
The rise of Bangladesh’s ODI team in 2015 and the present situation
The year 2015 will always remain a memorable one for Bangladesh cricket fans. The team Tigers had some unbelievable success all through the years. Bangladesh became a very competitive team under Captain Mashrafe Mortaza’s leadership and head coach Chandika Hathurusingha’s mastermind tactics.
Read India announce Asia Cup squad with Kohli back, sans Bumrah
Bangladesh knocked England out of the 2015 World Cup by beating them by 15 runs at the Adelaide Oval and secured a place in the quarter-finals. Later in the year, they won a bilateral ODI series against Pakistan (3-0), India (2-1) and South Africa (2-1) respectively.
In 2017, Bangladesh stunned the cricket world by reaching the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy in England. However, they were knocked out of the competition after losing to India by 9 wickets in the semi-final fixture.
The following year, in 2018, Bangladesh won a bilateral series against West Indies (2-1) and reached the Asia Cup final. However, India’s victory against Bangladesh by 3 wickets in the final dashed Bangladesh’s hopes of taking home the trophy.
Read Bangladesh end disastrous Zimbabwe tour with win
Bangladesh made an excellent preparation for the 2019 World Cup by winning a tri-nation series in Ireland, their first in cricket history. The team Tigers’ World Cup 2019 campaign started off with a 21-run victory over South Africa. They later couldn’t maintain the momentum and finished eighth in the points table with three victories over South Africa, West Indies and Afghanistan.
However, all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan had a magnificent tournament, breaking multiple records. He made 606 runs with an average of 86.57 and also picked up 11 wickets in 8 matches.
The charismatic captain, Mashrafe Mortaza, later stepped down from the captaincy and veteran opener Tamim Iqbal took the role in March 2020. Since then, Tamim Iqbal has led Bangladesh quite well, equaling the record with Mashrafe Mortaza for most consecutive ODI series wins (5) as captain. Under Tamim Iqbal’s captaincy, Bangladesh registered their first-ever bilateral ODI series win in South Africa in March 2022.
Read: Bangladesh end disastrous Zimbabwe tour with win
400 ODI Matches: Statistical Highlights of the Bangladesh National Men’s Cricket Team
Bangladesh’s statistics and records in the ODI format are now quite rich after 400 games. Let’s explore some significant ODI statistics for Bangladesh.
Notable Team records (as on August 10, 2022)
Matches
400
Wins
144
Loss
249
Most ODIs Played
Zimbabwe (81)
Most ODI Wins
Zimbabwe (51)
Most ODI Losses
Sri Lanka (40)
Best Results in ODI World Cup
Super Eights (2007) and Quarter-Finals (2015)
Best Result in ICC Champions Trophy
Semi-Finals (2017)
Best Results in ODI Asia Cup
Runner-Ups (2012 and 2018)
Highest Totals
333/8 against Australia (2019)
Lowest Totals
58 against West Indies (2011) and India (2014)
Largest Victories (runs)
169 runs against Zimbabwe (2020)
Smallest Victories (runs)
3 runs against New Zealand (2010) and Afghanistan (2018)
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Read BCB yet to name a captain for Asia Cup
Notable Individual records (as on August 10, 2022)
Most Matches
Mushfiqur Rahim (236)
Most Matches as Captain
Mashrafe Mortaza (88)
Most Wins as Captain
Mashrafe Mortaza (50)
Most Runs
Tamim Iqbal (8074)
Highest Score
Litton Das (176)
Most Hundreds
Tamim Iqbal (14)
Most Fifties
Tamim Iqbal (55)
Most Sixes
Tamim Iqbal (101)
Most Wickets
Shakib Al Hasan (285)
Best Bowling Figures
Mashrafe Mortaza (6/26)
Most Five Wickets Haul
Mustafizur Rahman (5)
Most Dismissals
Mushfiqur Rahim (252)
Most Catches
Mahmudullah Riyad (73)
Highest Partnership
Tamim Iqbal and Litton Das (292)
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
Read Asia Cup 2022: What could Bangladesh’s squad look like?
Way Forward
Reaching the 400-ODI games milestone is indeed a historic accomplishment for Bangladesh national men’s cricket team. They have come a long way after some fruitless early years on the international platform. The Tigers’ overall winning percentage has been decent given that they had to wait 12 years for their first ODI triumph.
In addition, Bangladesh have always preferred one-day cricket because the majority of their memorable moments have come in ODIs. The Tigers’ ODI side under Tamim Iqbal has made significant strides in the recent international series.
The Bangladesh team’s next major goal is to do something remarkable at the next ODI Cricket World Cup in 2023. Bangladesh have a decent chance of achieving their goals as the 13th ODI Cricket World Cup will be hosted in India.
Source: United News of Bangladesh