Another chapter in gold (1 June 1999)
June 31 - Monday the day and 1999 the year
01-Jun-1999
1 June 1999
Another chapter in gold
Al-Amin and Rabeed Imam
June 31 - Monday the day and 1999 the year. The red-letter day of
Bangladesh's sporting existence.
Cricketers have done this nation proud. It is the ultimate gift of
the millennium and the mortal Bangladeshis would like to relish the
62-run victory against Pakistan for the rest of their lives.
The historic win, Bangladesh's first against any of the nine Test
playing nations, has not only firmly planted a milestone in the
annals of the country's sporting history, but also opened up a whole
new vista about the future of the country's cricket.
The fantastic win and that too against a team which looked invincible
the other day with four straight wins in the tournament, immensely
enhanced Bangladesh's plea for Test status.
"We have lost to our brothers. The better team won today. I think
Bangladesh will be playing Test cricket in the next couple of years,"
said Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, desperately trying to hide his
embarrassment after the stunning defeat.
While the "captain fantastic" invoked "brotherhood", this victory of
Aminul and Co, to many of our readers who phoned in after the match,
surely emulates the feat of the millions of Bangladeshis who won in
1971.
The whole nation started preparing for the unique moment when the
first Pakistani wicket fell. It was all quite on the streets as
people from all walks of life stayed glued in front of the mini
screens to watch history in the making. And then came the finest
moment when wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud whipped off the bails to
herald the fall of Pakistan.
The impact was obvious. The entire nation went wild. The country
caught in the walter of diverse affiliation, political unrest and
economic deprivation, joined in unison to celebrate a feat that had
looked impossible hours earlier.
As about 5,000 Bangladesh expatriates were invading the lush green at
the Wantage Road ground at Northampton to have the feel of the
heroes, thousands of miles away back home people came out on the
streets from every nook and corner.
Victory processions paraded the Dhaka streets. The Dhaka University
campus became the centre of unprecedented scenes of joy - cars
honking horns, youngsters in ecstasy, national flags flying as proud
as ever.
Source :: The Bangladesh Daily Star (https://www.dailystarnews.com)