5 occasions when Bangladesh came close to defeating a Top Test side

Bangladesh vs. New Zealand, 1st Test Match, 2008, Chittagong, Bangladesh

Bangladesh lost this Test despite taking a first innings lead

Bowling first at Chittagong, the New Zealand bowlers stifled the Bangladesh batsmen early in the innings as they slipped to 44/4. However, a record fifth-wicket partnership between Mushfiqur Rahim (79) and Mehrab Hossain Jr (83) revived their team’s fortunes and helped Bangladesh post a decent total of 245 in the first innings. Daniel Vettori was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand picking 5 for 59. IE O’Brien (3 for 36) and JS Patel (2 for 67) chipped in with useful contributions.

In reply, the visitors got all out for a paltry score of 171 as Shakib-Al-Hasan spun a web around the Kiwi batsmen accounting for 7 of their total batsmen. Daniel Vettori was the highest run-getter for New Zealand with a score of 55.

Looking to extend their lead in the second innings, Bangladesh were taken aback by some excellent spin bowling from Vettori (4 for 74) and Jeetan Patel (2 for 53). Nonetheless, it was Shakib-Al-Hasan who came to his side’s rescue with a fine innings of 71 and coupled with valuable contributions from Mortaza (44) and Razzak (18) helped the visitors set a target of 317.

Chasing a stiff target, New Zealand lost their first wicket at the score of 55. However, opener Aaron Redmond with his gritty 62 drove his side to safer shores before getting out on 79. But a resolute Daniel Vettori took charge of the proceedings and made a well-compiled 76 which included 7 crafty hits to the fence. With Vettori’s dismissal, Bangladesh saw a glimmer of hope but it was soon nipped in the bud as the lower order batsmen safely guided New Zealand home.

Yet another riveting contest which could have gone either way ended in a Bangladesh defeat.

Bangladesh vs. South Africa, 1st Test Match, 2008, Dhaka, Bangladesh

This would have been one of the biggest upsets in Test history

Batting first, Bangladesh were knocked over by Morne Morkel’s five-for and Dale Steyn (3 for 27) as they succumbed to a measly total of 192. With the top-order in total shambles, Mohammad Ashraful (34) and Aftab Ahmed (44) tried to salvage some pride but soon fell to some superb piece of bowling from the South Africans.

However, South Africa were in for a surprise when their top four batsmen got out cheaply with only 76 runs on the board. Leading the stirring fight-back were Shahadat Hossain (6 for 27) and Mohammad Rafique (2 for 55) who restricted the visitors to only 170.

Having established a 22-run-first-innings-lead, Junaid Siddique then extended it with his stodgy innings of 74 before Dale Steyn (4 for 48) and Jacques Kallis (5 for 30) triggered yet another lower order collapse as Bangladesh were all-out for 182.

Chasing a modest target of 205 runs, Graeme Smith (62), Hashim Amla (46) and Ashwell Prince (38) steered the team home despite Hossain’s three-for and Rafique’s 2 for 54. And once again, Bangladesh came close to beating a non-Zimbabwean opposition but failed to deliver the knock-out punch.

Bangladesh vs. Sri Lanka, 1st Test Match, 2008, Dhaka, Bangladesh

No team has chased a target of over 500 in Test Cricket, but Bangladesh came close at one stage

Batting first, Sri Lanka were rattled early on in their innings as Shakib-Al-Hasan (5 for 70) produced a superb spell of spin bowling during which he picked up the prized wickets of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumara Sangakkara. However Samaraweera (90) and Vaas (37) steadied the ship as Sri Lanka posted 293 runs in their first innings.

In reply, Bangladesh were all-out for 178 as Muttiah Muralitharan’s (6 for49) 11th five-wicket haul against Bangladesh dampened all their hopes of a come-back. Sri-Lanka were put in a dominant position by Jayawardene (162), Sangakkara (67) and Samaraweera (62) and the visitors piled on a massive total of 405 runs in the second innings.

Chasing an improbable total of 521, Bangladesh began their innings on an encouraging note as batsmen looked to score runs instead of trying to play for a draw. Leading the charge was Mohammad Ashraful who made a fine hundred and got ample support from the other end in Shakib (96) and Mushfiqur Rahim (61). However, the target proved to be too big in the end as Sri Lanka won the test match by 107 runs.

However, after tamely conceding such a big lead, this was just the kind of fight back the fans had been craving for. Although Bangladesh would lament the missed chances on the field, they can take heart from the fact that the team put up a fight instead of caving under pressure.