Editorial
Bangladesh should have won
We just couldn't prove good enough
Pakistan shouldn't have won this match given the modest total that Bangladesh had to chase and given the form Bangladesh has shown throughout the tournament. Therefore, it was a match for Bangladesh to lose and it lost. That was the supreme irony of fate that befell the passionately cricket-loving people of Bangladesh.
The day began well for Bangladesh as they won the toss and elected to field to chase a known total which so far played to the advantage of the side as their wins against India and Sri Lanka had proven. Throughout the tournament the Tigers performed with discipline and were amply rewarded for it. Bangladesh never played so consistently as they did during this tournament.
The fact that 9 Pakistani wickets fell was a fitting tribute to Bangladesh's effective bowling and tight fielding. The Tigers took all catches except one.
Remember, we were in a new territory; a cricket-hungry people starving of great victory suddenly found itself close to tasting it and yet it was not be. The way we humbled world and Asian Cup champions -- India and Sri Lanka -- to reach the finals was a saga itself and then we awaited the glory of beating Pakistan in the finals that was not to be.
By hindsight, the first odd that was stacked against us was Shahadat Hossain's conceding 19 run to Pakistan in the 50th over, that too with two no balls which made the critical difference for Bangladesh given the narrow margin of victory by Pakistan in the end.
Pakistan leaving a getable target of 237 for Bangladesh, it was basically a winnable final for us. While Tamim scored a quickfire 50 for the fourth time in the tournament, Shakib scored a brilliant 68. Mahmudullah played a gallant knock. In contrast, Nasir was pathetically slow scoring until the very end when he showed some belated flashes. But the momentum was lost and Mashrafee who injected some life into the match had no business throwing away his wicket at a critical juncture.
We have reasons to derive a lot of satisfaction from the tournament but the reality is Bangladesh ended up losing a winnable final and therefore denied themselves the ultimate glory.
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