Million dollar question for the day: What's the score?

What’s the score? A casual Tamim Iqbal asked when he went out from Park Plaza Hotel for a haircut in Cardiff on Saturday. Moments later, Soumya Sarkar arrived and queried, “Who is batting? What do you think?” These are the questions lingering in the minds of the Bangladesh cricketers after their famous win against New Zealand as the players were quite eager to know about the situation of the crucial 2017 Champions Trophy game between Australia and host England at Edgbaston. The Tigers seemed relaxed as there were no practise sessions scheduled for Saturday. The cricketers roamed around the city, spent time with friends and also did some shopping. Later, skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza arrived with his wife after shopping. His wife, accompanied by their son and daughter, then took the return flight to Bangladesh on Saturday. The Tigers will travel to Birmingham on Sunday. After seeing off his family at the airport, the Tigers captain joined the journalists for a friendly chat where he informed that it was one of those games which will remain close to his heart for a long time. At the same time, he added that the situation is such that they couldn't even celebrate their fantastic win over the Kiwis as they were more keen on the result of the Australia-England match on Saturday. “What a game, isn’t it?” said Mashrafe before adding, “It requires a lot of self belief when you go out to the middle in such a situation. Both Shakib [al Hasan] and Mahmudullah showed their class.” By this time Tamim returned after completing his hair-cut. He joined the journalists present outside the hotel and said, “It’s one of those special days for Bangladesh cricket where the players enjoyed the win in such a big platform. This is something we will cherish for long time. Even if England do not manage to beat Australia and Bangladesh fail to qualify for the semi-finals, I think this win will help us to take the next step.” In came fast bowler Taskin Ahmed with a smiling face and said, “How was my bowling the other day? You know, I was under tremendous pressure before this game. I think I love playing under pressure, which worked out well for me. But still I was a bit upset when I was not picked for the first two games and at the same time I was preparing myself to give my best whenever I get the opportunity.” A confident Taskin added, “Alhamdulillah, I got a chance in the most important one and was happy to contribute for the team. You just pray that England beat Australia so that we can qualify for the semi-final, that’s it. You never know, we can surprise the world.” It was like a bright sunny day for the Bangladesh cricketers after a few days of darkness, with a lot of criticism coming in the way of the Tigers in the last couple of days following their warm-up defeats to Pakistan and India and later against England in the tournament opener. But the win against New Zealand and the way victory was achieved will certainly change the mindset of the players and if fortune favours the Tigers, history can soon be re-written.