Tamim Iqbal hadn't yet aged 18 when he first got an unexpected call-up to play the 2007 World Cup for Bangladesh. And then in the very first game of the tournament, Tamim was up against an Indian side full of "legends" in the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid & co, people he had grown up watching and admiring.
Tamim had butterflies in his stomach and can't remember much of the first half of the match, where Bangladeshi spinners set-up one of their country's monumental victories, dismissing that great Indian batting line-up for just 191 on an uneven deck at Port of Spain.
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In the second half, however, Tamim played the most confident of knocks, taking on India's leading pacer Zaheer Khan in the left-armer's very first spell on his way to a brilliant 51 that paved way for Bangladesh's memorable five-wicket win.
"The moment I was playing the World Cup 2007 match against India, I was too busy watching Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly. I was just watching them. I was too happy to be playing in the presence of these legends," Iqbal told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNcricinfo.
"When they scored 190, we knew we had a chance. I went to bat and I faced Zaheer Khan. I thought to myself will I be able to face a bowler who bowls at 140 kph; the first ball he bowled, somehow I managed to defend that; next ball I smashed for four and from there I got some confidence," he added.
"I was just too happy playing against my heroes; win against India in the 2007 World Cup was a great thing for Bangladesh cricket; it was great for both players and fans, the win gave hope to our people that our team can do something."
On the back of that win, Bangladesh, later going down versus Sri Lanka but defeating Bermuda in Group B, reached the second round of a 50-over World Cup for the very first time, as India crashed out of the competition.
In the Super 8, the team also beat South Africa in another brilliant exhibition of the talent that the young Bangladeshi side possessed.
That was the start of an era. Tamim, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza got the much-needed confidence from their performances at the biggest of stages in the Caribbean and later, with more experience under their belt, became the four strongest pillars of Bangladesh cricket.
(Inputs from ANI)
