Wednesday Dec 11, 2024
Wednesday Dec 11, 2024
Saturday, 5 March 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh fans, who greeted the opening of the World Cup with a glorious celebration and huge anticipation less than two weeks ago, turned on their own team on Friday as cheers turned to boos and angry recrimination.
Shakib Al Hasan’s team were humiliated by a rampant West Indian attack, skittled for their lowest ever one-day international score of 58 before falling to a nine-wicket beating.
The embarrassment of the co-hosts filled the Shere Bangla National Stadium like a bad smell with the very people who had hailed their team as potential world beaters on Feb. 19 reacting with increasingly vocal disgust as the match drew on.
Mohammad Moudud, 30, a student of BRAC University, summed up prevailing feelings neatly: “They (Bangladesh players) still need to learn many things. They have just marred our party and the weekend.”
As Shakib’s hapless men trooped off with heads kept low, fans tossed almost everything they could get their hands on -- caps, placards, logos, even jerseys -- to the outfield as a demonstration of their disappointment.
By the time the West Indian openers Chris Gayle and Darren Bravo returned to open the innings before their side went on to complete the formalities of the win, loud boos circulated the stadium, specially revamped for this tournament.
Those jeers were still reverberating after the match as West Indian fast bowler Kemar Roach collected a second man-of-the-match prize for his three wickets and Shakib tried to explain away the rubble of his side’s performance.
It had taken West Indies 90 minutes to polish off the Bangladeshis with a mixture of spin and pace and Darren Sammy’s men took three-quarters of an hour and 12.2 overs to knock off their target.
For the record, Devon Smith was out for six, bowled by Naeem Islam, Gayle remained unbeaten for 37 and Bravo was nine not out.
