Bishwajit Roy

The toothy smile vanished when Rubel Hossain talked about that turbulent episode of his life, which almost shattered his World Cup dreams.

Go out to the middle, enjoy your game and express yourself. This should be the mantra when a spirited Bangladesh side take on co-hosts and tournament favourites New Zealand at the Seddon Park here tomorrow in their last Pool A match of the World Cup.

You don't need to consult the encyclopaedia to know which living athlete is a prime example of human endeavour against adversity. A

A small yet noticeable part of the Adelaide Airport yesterday turned into a mini Bangladesh as the players, some of them with their family members, and the coaching staff gathered and mingled there on way to fly across the Tasman Sea to play their last pool match against co-hosts New Zealand in Hamilton on Friday.

Mushfiqur Rahim proved that hard work is always the key behind any success. The little right-hander has now been tagged as the 'Mr Dependable' of Bangladesh's batting line-up

When Bangladesh beat Scotland a few days back, there was a sense of relief. But when they disposed of England by 15 runs in a thriller at the Adelaide Oval yesterday, the whole nation savoured something that it can really be proud of.

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza bracketed the 15-run victory against England as the best achievement in his career.

Bangladesh's first World Cup centurion Mahmudullah Riyad has said that his hundred against England will forever remain a special memory in his life. As soon as he reached the landmark Riyad celebrated emphatically and also blew a flying kiss towards his family.

Bangladesh may well have two opportunities to sneak into the quarterfinals, but make no mistake, today's match against England at the

As the Tigers were training at the Adelaide Oval yesterday, the sound system, out of the blue, rang out the Bangladesh's national anthem.

With 167 runs in three matches, Mushfiqur Rahim has already scored more in this World Cup than he did four years ago. The wicket-keeper batsman was Bangladesh's highest run-getter in 2014 and has managed to continue the momentum in the mega event thus far.

The Tigers didn't get enough time to relax after Thursday's emphatic six-wicket victory against Scotland as they caught an early flight the following morning for Wellington, from where they would go to Adelaide via Melbourne ahead of their crucial group match against England on March 9.

The 40-odd minute innings break was perhaps the most nervous moment for any Bangladeshi fan yesterday. It was dominated by a mixture of fear and disbelief.

Tamim Iqbal looked a relieved man yesterday. Despite having missed out on what could have been a historic century for the player, the good news was that the batsman had finally hit form.

The weak points of this Bangladeshi contingent may be forgiven after their successful chase at Nelson's Saxton Oval. After all, it's not every day that the inconsistent Tigers manage to scale down a 300-plus total.

It appears that two schools of thought exist in the Bangladesh cricket team regarding the fans' interest and enthusiasm.

Cricket fans across the country will have to make some serious adjustments to their Thursday morning's wake-up call if they are unwilling to miss the Tigers in action against Scotland.

Three matches down and Bangladesh are yet to witness a Shakib Al Hasan-special. While he did score a match-turning half-century against Afghanistan, many reckon that the best is yet to come. However, things haven't been easy for the left-hander.

The Bangladesh cricket team had a day full of activities on Monday.

From excluding the older players from the side to hiring a new fielding coach, the team management followed a number of strategies in a bid to maintain a strong fielding unit in this World Cup. However, when the chips were down, that was the very aspect that the Tigers failed in.