'This victory means a hell of a lot to the whole country'

(Reuters)

The last time Bangladesh had played a World Cup match, their fans stoned the team coach and attacked the home of captain Shakib al-Hasan. Last night they might have carried him on their shoulders on a pathway adorned with gold.

Bangladesh beat England in a scintillating match by two wickets with five balls to spare. All had looked up for them and their World Cup seemed over when they were 169 for 8, chasing 225 to win.

"At 169-8 I thought we'd lost the game but [Mohammad] Mahmudullah and Shafiul [Islam] showed how tough they are and they batted exceptionally well and it paid off," said Shakib, who was a the target of his countrymen's ire after his side's defeat to the West Indies when they were bowled out for 58.

"When they hit the last ball then I believed it but before then I never believed they could win us the game.

"It means a hell of a lot to the whole country as we are all very emotional about cricket."

Bangladesh won after Shafiul, who made 24 from 24 balls, and Mahmudullah shared a ninth-wicket partnership of 58 in 57 balls.

Tamim Iqbal, the vice-captain and opener who gave Bangladesh a blazing start to their chase with 38 from 26 balls, said: "You never know with cricket. It's unbelievable. We knew that he [Shafiul] could bat but not like that."

Andrew Strauss, the England captain, was as magnanimous as ever in defeat but expressed surprise that the first day-night match at Chittagong, which this was, should be in the World Cup. "There was a 20-over period where it was very, very bad," said Strauss. "Graeme Swann couldn't grip the ball at all. I think there's something not quite right if a spinner can't grip the ball in this part of the world where spin plays such an important role."

The dew affected England's ability to grip the ball but it was Bangladesh who kept their nerve at the climax.

Group A Details

Results

New Zealand bt Kenya by 10 wkts

Sri Lanka bt Canada by 210 runs

Australia bt Zimbabwe by 91 runs

Pakistan bt Kenya by 205 runs

Australia bt New Zealand by seven wkts

Pakistan bt Sri Lanka by 11 runs

Zimbabwe bt Canada by 175 runs

Sri Lanka bt Kenya by nine wkts

Pakistan bt Canada by 46 runs

New Zealand bt Zimbabwe by 10 wkts

Australia v Sri Lanka: no result

Canada bt Kenya by five wkts

New Zealand bt Pakistan by 110 runs

Sri Lanka bt Zimbabwe by 139 runs

Remaining fixtures (GMT)

New Zealand v Canada: Tomorrow Mumbai 4am

Australia v Kenya: Tomorrow Bangalore 9am

Pakistan v Zimbabwe: Mon Kandy 9am

Australia v Canada: Wed Bangalore 9am

New Zealand v Sri Lanka: 18 Mar Mumbai 9am

Australia v Pakistan: 19 Mar Colombo 9am

Zimbabwe v Kenya: 20 Mar Kolkata 4am

Quarter Finals

QF1: A1 v B4 23Mar Dhaka 8.30am

QF2: A2 v B3 24Mar Ahmedabad 9am

QF3: A3 v B2 25Mar Dhaka 8.30am

QF4: A4 v B1 26Mar Colombo 9am

Group B Details

India bt Bangladesh by 87 runs

England bt Netherlands by six wkts

South Africa bt West Indies by seven wkts

Bangladesh bt Ireland by 27 runs

India tied with England

West Indies bt Netherlands by 215 runs

Ireland bt England by three wkts

South Africa bt Netherlands by 231 runs

West Indies bt Bangladesh by nine wkts

England bt South Africa by six runs

India bt Ireland by five wkts

India bt Netherlands by five wkts

West Indies bt Ireland by 44 runs

Bangladesh bt England by two wkts

Remaining Fixtures

India v South Africa: Today Nagpur 9am

Bangladesh v Netherlands: Mon Chittagong 3.30am

Ireland v South Africa: Tues Kolkata 9am

England v West Indies: Thurs Chennai 9am

Netherlands v Ireland: 18 Mar Kolkata 4am

Bangladesh v South Africa: 19 Mar Dhaka 3.30am

India v West Indies: 20 Mar Chennai 9am

Semi-finals (BST)

Winner QF1 v Winner QF3 - 29 Mar Colombo 10am

Winner QF2 v Winner QF4 - 30 Mar Mohali 10am

Final

2 April Mumbai 10am