When the less fancied dominate

With most of the channels, including the Bangladeshi ones, broadcasting the India versus South Africa fixture yesterday, it initially felt like a hassle to flip through the numbers trying to pin-point the other game early in the morning.

Now in an ideal world this wouldn't have happened. After all you had two super-star teams facing off at a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground; the Afghanistan-Sri Lanka fixture, in comparison, was like peanuts next to that and shouldn't have even bothered viewers.

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However, towards the end of the day it seemed like the South Asian clash received a lot more interest amongst the cricketing fraternity in Dhaka. And why wouldn't it?

The Afghans, especially their pacers, played like there was no tomorrow. It didn't matter to them that they were up against players who have already been termed legends of the game; all they did was trust their raw, brute force and that was enough to scare the brains out of a number of Sri Lankan fans.

Outside the island, there must have been quivery times in Khulshi, Gulshan and Baridhara DOHS; completely different to the magical moments that the Lankan fans celebrated during the Asia Cup and the bilateral series against Bangladesh early last year.

While a Mahela Jayawardene century and a late blitz from Thisara Perera ended up winning the match for the Lions, it left many sporting pundits in Bangladesh with a reason to smile.

It is quite evident that the Tigers had put up a much more professional performance against the Afghans. The way the Lankans struggled against the newbies yesterday, only went on to strengthen the belief instilled amongst Bangladesh's fans.

Now it would be naïve to think that the Tigers have an edge over the Lankans. Few can forget the bashings that we have received in their hands. However, their string of defeats and susceptible top order combined with Bangladesh's extremely positive start to the tour has suddenly seemed to have lifted expectations.

Whether the Tigers will be able to create history in Melbourne this Thursday is a question that many must be pondering upon. Will the Lankans choke in an atmosphere that is likely to be filled with Bangladeshi supporters at the MCG?

Ask the South Africans and they will tell you what it's like to have a thousand Indian flags being waved at the corners of their sights. It was a match that was supposed to witness an intense finale. But just like all the other matches between the full member teams, this one too ended on a one-sided note.

Prior to the tournament there were talks about how the South Africans had the most number of match-winners in a team. The only unfortunate aspect though was that none of them were able to fire yesterday. If the trend continues, the Cup will end as yet another 'missed opportunity' for the Proteas.