5 things that have fuelled the India-Bangladesh rivalry
India closed yet another successful chapter in their ongoing rivalry with neighbours Bangladesh by sealing a huge 8-wicket win in the final of the Asia Cup. The Bangladeshi team has managed to shed their former tag of 'minnows' in world cricket with some great performances in the ODI format in recent years.During their journey to becoming a formidable cricketing nation, they have got the better of Team India on quite a few occasions, primarily in 50-over cricket. In the process, Bangladesh have gone on to forge a high-octane rivalry against an extremely powerful Indian cricket team.This rivalry has only gained more prominence with every loss that India has suffered at the hands of the Tigers. Here are 5 important things which have fuelled theirrivalry:
#1 2007 ICC World Cup encounter
India's most disastrous performance at an ICC event in recent years came during the 2007 World Cup. The lowest point of their shoddy campaign was their unprecedented loss at the hands of then minnows Bangladesh.
The loss had a drastic impact on Team India's chances to progress in the tournament and they crashed out in the group stage itself. The manner in which a powerful Indian team, featuring the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Yuvraj, Sehwag and Zaheer among others, capitulated to a comparatively weaker Bangladesh side was shameful, to say the least.
The boisterous celebrations of the Bangladeshis only added fuel to the fire and gave birth to a brand new rivalry in world cricket.