‘Welcome to the land of heroes', proclaims a billboard outside the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. Strangely for Bangladesh, its cricketing heroes have been toppled from their pedestal.
The meagre 78 against South Africa at the Shere Bangla National Stadium here on Saturday and the resultant exit from the World Cup was a bitter pill for a nation that had for over a month linked its self-esteem to the performance of Shakib Al Hasan's men.
Plagued by natural calamities over the past three decades, Bangladesh has often found hope through men like Muhammad Yunus, famously known as the ‘Banker to the poor' besides getting its goosebumps when the cricket team occasionally stumped the pundits with victories over India and South Africa in the 2007 World Cup and against England in the latest edition.
This time around the city has embraced diverse emotions ranging from delight to despair. The carnival on the streets when Bangladesh and India played the inaugural game here on February 19, subsequently paved the way for unbridled anger and stone-pelting at the West Indies team bus after Bangladesh was shot out for 58 on March 4.
Sepulchral silence
Right now a sepulchral silence reigns amidst the stupefied fans though an angry columnist wrote: “We may criticise Mr. (Navjot Singh) Sidhu for his comments on our team but if we play like this can we blame him?”
Though the disappointment of the host missing out on the last eight berth lingers everywhere, the Shere Bangla National Stadium is now all set to host two quarterfinals here on Wednesday and Friday.
On March 23, two teams with their propensity to play explosive cricket as well as implode with equal felicity will face off as Pakistan and the West Indies nurse their respective hopes of lasting the distance in the World Cup and writing a fairytale.
The rivals mainly spent Monday in travel and transit. Pakistan's unpredictability factor and West Indies' tendency to collapse in the chase as evident against England and India will certainly mean that the first quarterfinal will test critics and players alike.
Meanwhile, the South African players, stationed in Dhaka ever since their victory over Bangladesh, opted to rest for one more day before training in the days leading to the quarterfinal against New Zealand on March 25.
Common goal
The four teams that feature in the quarterfinal mix here have one common goal — go all the way and win the cup that counts.
Graeme Smith's men had to endure the ‘chokers' tag once again while suffering the proverbial melt-down against England in Chennai a fortnight ago.
Subsequently South Africa gained in strength and displayed mental fortitude while chasing down India's total at Nagpur.
South Africa has had its share of gut-wrenching moments in the World Cups ranging from a `rain-rule' that derailed it in 1992 to a heart-stopping semifinal in 1999 and the team has to prove that it can manage the big moments consistently well.
New Zealand, meanwhile, returns to a place where its horror run in ODIs started. Last year, Daniel Vettori's men lost the series 0-4 and continued to slide before finding their feet now in the World Cup.
Ross Taylor's superb hundred against Pakistan being the highlight of a campaign that was briefly marred by losses against Australia and Sri Lanka. It's all in the past and with the knock-out phase chiming in the tournament's business end will bring out ecstasy and heart-break in equal measure.
