Bangladesh pulled a stunning five-wicket upset over India at the World Cup, with teenage batsmen Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal and Sakim Al Hasan scoring important half-centuries.
Pace bowler Mashrafe Mortaza's four-wicket burst pierced through India's famed batting order to bundle it out for 191, its lowest total against Bangladesh, before the young batsmen took center stage.
Bangladesh lost five wickets reaching the victory target of 192 with nine balls to spare, posting the first major upset of the current World Cup.
PHOTO: AFP
The players from India, the 1983 World Cup winner and 2003 finalist, had to stand back and watch as Bangladesh players celebrated its first victory in the World Cup in eight years.
It was only Bangladesh's second win against a test nation at the World Cup, following its upset over Pakistan in 1999.
"This win has given us a fair chance to qualify for the second round. This is a great day for Bangladesh cricket," Bangladesh captain Habibal Bashar said. "We would like to dedicate this win to our friend Manjural Islam."
PHOTO: AP
Players from both squads observed two minutes' silence before the match in honor of test player Manjural, who died on Friday in a traffic accident in Bangladesh.
Left-arm spinner Manjural, 22, played six tests and 25 limited-overs internationals, but did not make Bangladesh's 15-man World Cup squad.
India captain Rahul Dravid said inconsistent batting let his team down.
"Quite a disappointing day," he said. "We didn't bat well. They bowled well, the spinners bowled really well. We lost a few quick wickets in the end and that hurt us. Credit to them. They came in and got off to a good start. We have our backs to the wall and need to fight really hard."
Batting first after Dravid won the toss, India lost five wickets for two runs in 16 deliveries as Bangladesh seized control of the match through paceman Mortaza, who claimed figures of four for 38.
Left-arm spinners Mohammad Rafique and Abdur Razzaq took three wickets apiece.
Bangladesh's victory has added a new twist to preliminary Group B. In the only other match to date, 1996 World Cup winner Sri Lanka trounced Bermuda by 243 runs.
India now faces the real prospect of being knocked out in the first round, unless they win their remaining two matches.
Iqbal, who will turn 18 tomorrow, set off the victory chase with a smashing 51, his maiden half-century in five one-dayers. Iqbal's 53-ball knock contained two sixes and seven boundaries.
Iqbal was caught behind by Mahendra Dhoni off seamer Munaf Patel, but the blazing start allowed time for Hasan and Rahim to graft for runs.
Hasan, 19, compiled an 86-ball 53 and shared an innings-building partnership of 84 for the fourth wicket with 18-year-old Rahim, who top-scored with an unbeaten 56.
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