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Till 1990, cricket was the second most liked sport in Bangladesh. Football was at number one. The cricket team there was not even at the top among the associate countries till 1996, but only 4 years after this, Bangladesh got the status of playing Test cricket.
During 2000, Kenya’s claim among the associate countries was stronger than Bangladesh, but Kenya could not get the Test status. Now in 2024, Kenya’s cricket is completely ruined, while the Bangladesh team is going to play a 2-match Test series against India from today after defeating countries like New Zealand and Pakistan.
You will know 5 things in the story 1. How Bangladesh got Test status 2. Why England did not play the first Test against Bangladesh 3. Bangladesh’s major achievements in Test cricket 4. Team’s record against India and big teams 5. Story of the first day-night Test between India and Bangladesh
Saw the dream of Test cricket in 1996
Bangladesh became a separate country after separating from Pakistan in 1971. Bangladesh started playing ODI cricket in 1986, but the country could not do anything special in the next 10 years. In the ICC Trophy held between associate countries, the team was not even able to win against teams like Kenya, Ireland and Scotland.
In 1996, Saber Hussain Chowdhury became the President of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). He took the responsibility of getting the country the status of Test cricket. In 1997, the team also performed and won the ICC Trophy by defeating Kenya. Due to which Bangladesh also got the status of ODI team and they qualified for the 1999 ODI World Cup.
Bangladesh gained ODI status by winning the ICC Trophy in 1997. The picture is of the 1997 ICC Trophy Final.
Hosted 2 tournaments, convinced Dalmiya
After qualifying for the World Cup, Saber Hussain hosted the ICC Champions Trophy in 1998. The country then also hosted the final of the Asian Test Championship. Both hostings were given due to ICC President Jagmohan Dalmiya. Saber then also talked to Dalmiya about getting Test cricket status for Bangladesh.
Dalmiya also wanted to develop Bangladesh cricket. Being from Bengal, Dalmiya was more inclined towards Bangladesh. Saber then, with Dalmiya’s support, conducted a voting in the ICC meeting on whether Bangladesh should get Test status or not. Bangladesh was expecting only 3 votes, but along with India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and West Indies also supported them.
Test status received after 45 minutes of presentation
On 26 June 2000, the ICC’s annual meeting was held, where Saber Hussain got a chance to present his case. He gave a 45-minute presentation and explained why Bangladesh should get Test playing status. Saber was expecting 7 votes this time, but England and Australia also voted in his support and Bangladesh got all 9 votes.
Jagmohan Dalmiya, former President of ICC, continuously supported the Bangladesh cricket team.
When England refused, India played the match
With the help of ICC members’ vote, Bangladesh got the status of a Test team on 26 June itself. Saber Hussain did not delay and invited England to play a Test in Bangladesh. England rejected Bangladesh’s offer due to busy schedule. After which India agreed to play the Test.
Ganguly’s era started from Bangladesh
Corruption was rampant in the Indian cricket team during 2000. Captain Mohammad Azharuddin was found guilty of match fixing, due to which he was removed from the team. Young Sourav Ganguly, who had made his international debut 4 years ago, was made the captain. He captained the team for the first time at the international level against Bangladesh in November 2000.
Under Ganguly’s captaincy, India easily defeated Bangladesh in the Test by 9 wickets. Spinner Sunil Joshi, who took 8 wickets in both innings, was the Player of the Match. He also scored 92 runs while batting. Bangladesh could not win the first match, but the team made a great start to its career.
Played most against Sri Lanka, defeated Zimbabwe most
Bangladesh has played 144 Tests so far, the team won 21 and lost 105 during this period. The team played the maximum number of 26 Tests against Sri Lanka, but also lost the maximum number of 20 matches. The team defeated Zimbabwe the maximum number of 8 Tests. The team has also defeated West Indies in 4 Tests. Bangladesh has not won against India and South Africa yet.
Tests that have defeated Australia-England
It took Bangladesh 5 years to register its first Test win, the team defeated Zimbabwe in 2005. In 2009, the team created history and won the Test series 2-0 in the West Indies. This was the team’s first major success in Tests. From here, Bangladesh started to gain a strong hold on its home ground with the help of spin.
In 2016, Bangladesh defeated England by 108 runs. Then in 2017, they defeated Sri Lanka in their home. The team also defeated Australia in the same year in Mirpur by 20 runs. The team then went to New Zealand in 2022 and defeated the home team by 8 wickets and registered the first Test win in SENA countries.
In 2023, Bangladesh again defeated New Zealand on their home ground. Now in 2024, the team went to Pakistan and won the Test series 2-0 and created history. This was Bangladesh’s first Test win over Pakistan. Team captain Nazmul Hussain Shanto has said that now his team’s entire focus is on defeating India in the Test.
Lost 11 Tests to India
Even after getting the Test status, India continued to play Tests against Bangladesh. 13 Tests were played between the two in 24 years, but Bangladesh could not win even one. India won 11 matches, while 2 Tests were drawn due to rain.
Sachin’s historic double century
India’s legend Sachin Tendulkar scored 6 double centuries in his Test career. 2 against Australia, while 1 each against New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. His double century against Bangladesh was special because it was the highest score of his Test career.
Sachin played an innings of 248 runs with the help of 35 fours on the Dhaka ground in December 2004. At that time, it was the second highest score by any batsman against Bangladesh. West Indies’ Ramnaresh Sarwan had reached the first position by scoring 261 runs just 6 months before Sachin. Now, 20 years later, Sachin’s 248 runs is the fifth best score against Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s first day-night test
Ganguly, who started his captaincy career against Bangladesh, then organised Bangladesh’s first day-night test in 2019. As the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), he invited Bangladesh to play a day-night test. This was also India’s first day-night test. This match was played at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on 22 November 2019.
India’s captain Virat Kohli scored a century in the match. While fast bowler Ishant Sharma took 9 wickets in both innings. Due to which India won the match by an innings and 46 runs. The special thing about Kohli is that this was his 27th century in Test and 70th century in international cricket. Even after 1020 days, he could not score another century in international cricket. This is also considered to be Kohli’s worst phase.
He finished 9th in WTC both times
The ICC’s World Test Championship started in 2019. So far 2 finals of the tournament have been played, but the Bangladesh team remained at the bottom of the points table at number 9 both times. The team did not win a single Test between 2019 and 2021, while it won only one match between 2021 and 2023.
Bangladesh has now won 3 out of 6 Tests between 2023 and 2025. The team defeated Pakistan in 2 Tests and New Zealand in one. Now they have 3 series remaining against India, West Indies and South Africa. The team is currently at number four in the points table.
Graphics: Ankit Pathak
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Reference Links
India-Bangladesh Test history ICC Trophy 1997 Bangladesh Test status
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