Last Updated on 2 months by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: 5 times Bangladesh were SO CLOSE to a historic Test win | India beat Bangladesh in Dhaka: Heartbreak for the Tigers
Bangladesh were left shattered on Christmas Day as Ravichandran Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer led India to a thrilling three-wicket win in Dhaka.
It was another heartbreak for Bangladesh in the longest format, with wins against big teams few and far between since they were awarded Test status in 2000.
“We can tell heartbreak stories very well, but we can’t tell good stories well. That is the problem,” said captain Shakib Al Hasan following the defeat. How true.
5 times Bangladesh were left heartbroken in Test cricket
Below are five such heartbreaks for Bangladesh in their Test history. Each will bring back bitter memories for their fans, but the hope is they can turn good positions into more victories in the future.
vs Pakistan, Multan, 2003
The day the Inzamam-ul-Haq stood in Bangladesh’s way. The legendary Pakistan batsman struck a memorable 138* to get Pakistan home by just one wicket in a classic Test in Multan in 2003.
Set 261 to win, Pakistan fell to 164/7 and 205/8. But, with support from Umar Gul (5 off 50 balls) and Yasir Ali (1* off 4 balls), Inzamam produced the goods to deny Bangladesh their first ever Test win at the time.
vs Australia, Fatullah, 2006
Had Bangladesh pulled this off, it would have still been considered Test cricket’s greatest upset to this day. A tired-looking Australia, who were just days off a long tour of South Africa, conceded 355/5 on day one of the series. Bangladesh then ended up scoring 427 to put the pressure on the world number one side that had conquered all before them previously.
On a pitch offering turn and uneven bounce, Australia were in tatters at 93/6. Despite a glorious Adam Gilchrist century and second innings collapse themselves, Bangladesh still set Australia a challenging 307 for victory.
Ricky Ponting led from the front with a superb 118*, but not before a dropped catch by Mashrafe Mortaza at fine leg with the match still in the balance. In the end, the Tigers were left wondering what could have been.
The next Test wasn’t so close as Jason Gillespie hit 201* as a nightwatchman.
vs New Zealand, Chattogram, 2008
This time it was Daniel Vettori who stood in Bangladesh’s way. In the game that Shakib Al Hasan announced himself as a star with nine wickets (including 7/36) and 71, Vettori trumped him with nine wickets and scores of 55* and 76 in one of the great all-round displays.
After getting rolled for 171 in their first dig, New Zealand, like Australia two years earlier, were required to chase 300+ to win. Vettori batted 213 balls for his 76, alongside Aaron Redmond (79 off 237 balls) and Daniel Flynn (49 off 126 balls) to grind Bangladesh down in the Chattogram heat.
It took the Black Caps 137.5 overs to chase 317, with just three wickets to spare. Again, Bangladesh were left to scratch their heads and wonder how they didn’t win.
vs England, Chattogram, 2016
One of the classic Tests. On a spinning pitch in Chattogram, the match ebbed and flowed to leave viewers on the edge of their seats. England fought to reach 293, Bangladesh stuttered to 248. England then couldn’t bat the Tigers out of the game, scoring 240 to leave a target of 286.
At 227/5 with Mushfiqur Rahim and Sabbir Rahman having put on 87, the Tigers then lost three wickets for 11 runs. Sabbir (64*) combined with Taijul Islam to take Bangladesh to within just 23 for victory, but man of the match Ben Stokes took the final two wickets LBW to seal a memorable 22-run win for England.
Bangladesh’s heartbreak was short-lived, though, as they won the next Test by 108 runs thanks to a 12-wicket haul by Mehidy Masan Miraz in just his second match.
vs India, Mirpur, 2022
And, of course, the 2022 version. Effectively 26/6 in their second innings, Bangladesh looked gone. But, fighting efforts by Litton Das, Nurul Hasan and Taskin Ahmed gave the Tigers a fighting chance with a 144-run lead.
By the end of the third day, it looked to be a fair score. India were 100 away from victory with six wickets in hand. By the 30th over, Bangladesh had the game in their hands having restricted the visitors to 74/7.
But, as has been in the case in the past, the Tigers couldn’t complete the job. A lack of control with the ball, poor fielding and wonderful batting by Shreyas Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin denied Bangladesh a first-ever Test win over India as they prevailed by three wickets.
