Bangladesh’s top ten moments against India-4

There's every chance that the upcoming series against India might just be the most successful tour that the Tigers have ever had against their South Asian neighbours.

After all, the cogwheels are churning and the Tigers have been on a roll ever since their World Cup campaign in Australia and New Zealand.

However, no matter how successful the result, the Bangladesh-India cricket anthology will never be complete without a mention of the historic five-wicket win at the Port of Spain in 2007.

The effect of that result was so enormous that that match has been referred to almost every single time India took on Bangladesh in a World Cup ever since, regardless of Bangladesh's form; as though the ghosts of Port of Spain have been lingering ever since.

To many ex-cricketers that was the win that started it all for the Tigers in major events.

It was an emotion that was quite obvious from Habibul Bashar, the captain back then.

"The World Cups in 1999 and 2007 are both special for me. Defeating Pakistan as a new unit… that was definitely unbelievable. But personally for me, the win against India is something that I hold very high in my heart.

We knew we could beat them, but when we did… the feeling was incredible," Bashar said while reflecting on the win.
Slow left-armer Mohammad Rafique, who scalped figures of 3 for 38 in that game remembers every detail as though it had taken place yesterday.

"I think I got [MS] Dhoni, [Rahul] Dravid and [Sourav] Ganguly,"smirked Rafique.

"That wasn't the first time we beat India. We beat them in 2004 as well. But that win was very special because back then India was supposed to qualify for the second round… it was almost written. But we stopped that.

"We have progressed a lot in World Cups. We won three games in 2011 and then three more in 2015. But to me that win was how it all started for us. Once we got through that hurdle, we didn't know what our limits were," he added.

Like in almost every other victory against India, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza played an enigmatic role in 2007 as well, taking four wickets and ensuring that India were under pressure right from the start.

What was as breathtaking to watch though was the birth of Bangladesh's youngsters, who would eventually go on to form the core of Bangladesh's team in the coming years.

Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan, only teenagers back then, surprised the world when they dispatched a legendary Indian team with five wickets and nine balls remaining.

A couple more weeks and they will be up against the same opponents, this time though with a lot more expectations.