Bangladesh have earned respect, says Bashar

CRICKET: BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, April 21, Bangladesh may have lost their last World Cup match, but will return home as an outfit that gained respect from their opponents for their gutsy performances.

That they emerged the second-best side of the sub-continent after Sri Lanka was a matter of pride for Habibul Bashar's Bangladeshis who were not expected to go beyond the opening round.

Bangladesh exceeded expectations with a couple of big performances to upstage sub-continental giants India and Pakistan, who fell flat in the opening round itself after winning just one game. Their surprise wins over former champions India and top-ranked South Africa meant they were never taken lightly by their opponents.

However, as a sign of their maddening inconsistency, they then lost to Ireland.

"We had some good days and we had some bad days, but we showed what we were capable of when we qualified for the Super Eights," Bashar said after his team's 99-run defeat against the West Indies here on Thursday.

"We can take a lot of positives from this tournament. We have earned respect from the opposition. It was good for us to qualify for the second round from a tough group. "We have shown we are capable of beating big sides, but we need to be more consistent."

Bangladesh had been playing one-day cricket for more than a decade, but could achieve only a few big wins.

They beat India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia just once each but failed to build on these successes.

They looked a different team this time, qualifying for the second round for the first time since making their Cup debut in 1999 in England.

AFP