Writer: Afsin Bey is a cricket fan from Bangladesh
While my Pakistani friends are busy affiliating ICC Word Cup 2019 with ICC World Cup 1992, I’m recalling the Cricket World Cup ’99, – That episode of the tournament in which my beloved country Bangladesh ‘strangely’ yet excitedly beat Pakistan to secure its test match status.
It was one of the hot days of May ’99 and fortunately I got occupied in the kitchen, to get a chance to watch the match at home. Bangladesh was a new name in the cricket world cup of cricket yet cricket was gradually becoming a favorite sport and had already overtaken football in terms of popularity.
It was the first time in my life I witnessed my country, participating in cricket at international level, ICC Cricket Word Cup England ’99, that event gave me ecstatic feel yet we friends cracked a joke that probably our team was more interested in British passport, because this new ICC cricket team was doing nothing much but facing defeat. After got defeated twice Bangladesh won its third match against Scotland, which like Bangladesh was a new name in cricket world cup.
It was May 31st 1999, when Bangladesh was in dire need to beat Pakistan to secure ‘test status’ for the country. Whereas Pakistan had already qualified for the next round and was one of the fantastic teams of 90s – the hopes of Bangladesh rested on this sole match – as the whole nation came to a standstill – in the hope of earning a victory that would guaranteed our young nation, a first major sporting achievement – ‘test status’.
As they called it, it was the major up set and a thrilling shock in the cricket history that Bangladesh beat Pakistan and secured test status as well; and as today I bragged about our famous win to a Pakistani friend, he reminded me: “bruv you do know we let you win because we’re both Muslim?” And I couldn’t help but believed he was right; Pakistan let Bangladesh won because we are a Muslim nation akin to Pakistan, and the game of 1999 meant little to Pakistan but a lot to Bangladesh.
I would pause myself for a little while about the concept of cheating in Islam, this maybe, is not a cheating, twenty years later, at World Cup 2019, the tables have turned and now it is Pakistan who is in dire need to win in order to qualify semifinal, and Bangladesh has nothing to play for – because it has already disqualified to play semifinal…and I would say: Bangladesh return the favour of 1999 and let Pakistan win 😉
