2023 has also become a memory as we have started living in 2024. So, why not review some iconic moments of Bangladesh cricket that took place in the previous year? From younger teams’ Asia Cup success to historic wins in New Zealand – here are 5 iconic moments of Bangladesh Cricket in 2023.
A sweet revenge
To date, Bangladesh and Afghanistan faced each other only twice in the longest format of the game. The first meeting wasn’t however a memorable one for Bangladesh as a comparatively young team gave the Tigers a glimpse of shame by beating by a staggering margin of 224 runs.
However last June, team Bangladesh finally got an opportunity to regain their stigma. Batting first in the first innings, the Tigers accumulated 382 runs after losing all of their wickets. Current skipper Nazmul Hossain Shanto’s fantabulous knock of 146 runs helped the host side to reach that figure. On the other hand, for visitors, the whole match became a nightmare as they were packed up with just 146 runs, which was the individual score of Shanto’s first inning. Ebadot took 4 wickets while Shoriful, Taijul and Miraz got 2 wickets each. The second inning turned out more fruitful for the Tigers as Shanto got his second hundred (124) in a match while former captain Mominul added another hundred (121*) beside his name. Opener Zakir Hasan and Wicket-keeper Liton Kumar Das scored fifty-plus runs, pushing a team total of 425/4. Zakir got out in 71 while Liton remained not out along with Mominul before the team decided to declare the inning.
Meanwhile, chasing an almost impossible target of 662 runs, Afghans could score 115 runs altogether, creating a history of shame. Bangladesh captured the place in the record book as it was the third-highest margin of victory in the history of test cricket – a place that remained unchanged until the day before 1911. Taskin took 4 wickets, while Shoriful got 3 more victims.
A cosy hug
It was the 2nd ODI of the 3-match series between Bangladesh and the BlackCaps (New Zealand) right before the showpiece event – ICC World Cup. The Tigers were under pressure as they had already lost the first match and were looking for a victory. Batting first, New Zealand accumulated 224 runs with a loss of 8 wickets in 45.3 overs. As pacer Hasan Mahmud was bowling that over, Sodhi left the crease before the bowl was released. Hasan took the opportunity and hit the stumps with his bowling hand. As these types of incidents, known as Mankading, are now recognized as ‘Run Out’ by the MCC and ICC, the third umpire reviewed the footage and gave him out. Subsequently, when Sodhi headed towards the dressing room, the then-skipper Liton Kumar Das and Hasan called him back and invited him to continue his inning. Sodhi gladly returned and gave Hasan a cosy hug before accumulating 18 more runs beside his name. Bangladesh lost that game as well but that incident proved that Cricket is truly a gentleman’s game.
Although, the Bangladesh team was lately criticized for the ‘Timed Out’ incident against Sri Lanka – but the situation was a little bit massed up that time. After losing several matches in a row Tigers needed a victory to secure the Champions Trophy that will be organized by Pakistan in 2025.
The Silent Killer’s comeback
The then 37-year-old Mahmudullah seemed to be out of consideration for the World Cup squad for a while. Afterwards, when he performed well against New Zealand in a home series, team management couldn’t but include their old ace. Mahmudullah then became the lonely warrior for team Tigers during that event. He scored 198 runs in total with an average of 99 where his strike rate was 101.02. Apart from scoring the most runs from his side during that event, he made a ton against South Africa. By playing that inning of 111, he became the record holder for the most number of centuries among Bangladeshi players in both World Cup events (3) and any ICC events (4).
You can read more about Mahmudullah’s comeback by clicking here: Mahmudullah revives his old record
Unbeaten Asia’s Champion
Bangladeshi age-level cricketers have already proved their potential by winning the 2020 U-19 World Cup. Some of the cricketers from that batch – comprising Shoriful Islam, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shahadat Hossain Dipu, Tanjim Hasan Sakib have become regular faces in the Bangladeshi national team. Continuing the legacy of the former batch, the new batch of the Bangladesh Under-19 team is also showing a beacon of light. In the last edition of the U-19 Asia Cup hosted by the Asian Cricket Council, little Tigers won the title without losing a single match. After beating UAE, Japan and Sri Lanka in the group stage, Bangladesh beat India by 4 wickets in the semi-finals and later they defeated the United Arab Emirates, the host nation by a whopping 195 runs in the finals. This team will play the 2024 U-19 World Cup as well starting from 19 January and hosted by South Africa.
Beating New Zealand in New Zealand
For both Bangladesh and New Zealand going on a tour to the other side was kind of a nightmare before. Both of the sides failed to win a single game in many series. However, in 2023, New Zealand altered the record for the first time. Before the World Cup, they whitewashed Bangladesh by 2-0 since the first match was washed by rain. Subsequently, Bangladesh claimed victory in the first test of the two-match test series as a part of the test championship. In the second game, Bangladesh failed miserably in the spinning track that was supposed to be dreadful for the Kiwis.
After the test series, both of them faced each other on the bank of the Tasman Sea for an ODI and a T20I series. Bangladesh couldn’t fight well in the first two ODI games but came back strongly in the last match of the series by securing a dominating 9-wicket victory. Afterwards, Bangladesh won their first-ever T20I match in New Zealand by beating the host side by 5 wickets. However, the second match abounded due to rain and in the 3rd match, the Kiwis beat Bangladesh by 17 runs in the DLS method as the rain hampered the gameplay once again.
You can read about Bangladesh’s historic wins in New Zealand by following this link: Bangladesh claims another historic win on the bank of the Tasman Sea
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