The brilliance of Bangladesh in a Cardiff afternoon

"I needed to prove something to myself." - Mohammad Ashraful

When Israel was at war with the Philistines, the Israelites made a fervent appeal to King Saul. They wanted their ruler to stand up against Goliath, whose might and destruction shrouded the land with a blanket of terror. However, Saul's timidity led him to leave his kingdom to the mercy of fate. And as it happens so many times in history, fate smiled on the one fighting against the odds. That day, even the Gods were in awe of the courageous David as he defeated the Herculean Goliath. Years later, the Gods of cricket bowed in appreciation of the excellence of a team that defied expectations, who vanquished the monarch to script a tale laced with magnificence. It was a Saturday afternoon in 2005.

Australia was invincible, unconquerable. They enthralled the world by lifting the 1999 World Cup, they enchanted again by retaining their title in 2003. The juggernaut destroyed every opposition on the way, subjugating each frontier when it came to ODI cricket. The Champions Trophy was just another kingdom waiting to fall (as it happened in the 2006 edition of the tournament). The cricket world was dazzled by their majestic glory as the commoners shut their eyes unable to look at the bright yellow marauding machine. It was then that a young, weaker team stood up with indomitable courage and unyielding spirit. And they were led by Mohammad Ashraful, a 21-year-old braveheart who would later become a tainted figure.

NatWest Series, 2005: Australia won the toss and elected to bat first, brimming with confidence about their prowess and assured of a victory. Bangladesh, led by captain Habibul Bashar, had only one thing to play for - the greatest cause of all: Pride and self-respect. They made an impact in the second ball of the match when Mashrafe Mortaza had Adam Gilchrist out lbw. Gilchrist went for a duck and eyebrows were raised. With 9 runs on the board, Australia lost their second wicket. Their captain Ricky Ponting was out lbw by Tapash Baisya. A slight murmur filled the air as baffled eyes looked on.

Australia were 57/3 as Mathew Hayden slowly made his way back to the dressing room. It was an audacious act from Bangladesh as they tried to mount a challenge against the indisputable rulers. Damien Martyn and Michael Clarke tried to punish the rebels, bringing out the famous Australian "never say die" spirit. But the 'Tigers' were up to the task as they fought tooth and nail to restrict the Aussies to 249. Still a formidable score, still a monumental target against Australia. Cricket sighed and started to write a tale of how "they fought well".

Bangladesh had other ideas. When they came out to bat, their eyes looked determined and their jaws hardened. The start was awful, however. Australia attacked hard with vengeance and anger, sending both openers Javed Omar and Nafees Iqbal and the next batsman Tushar Imran quickly back to the pavilion. The scoreboard read 72/3 and the dream looked bleak. As the courage waned, out came Mohammad Ashraful.

Ashraful then forged a telling partnership with his captain Habibul Bashar. Muhammad Ali once said, "He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life". The two fought when they were pushed to the wall. They defended against the meteors hurled by Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz. Bangladesh reached 202 and Bashar fell. Ashraful was still there. The world watched with bated breath as a young batsman stood like a final frontier for his team. In no time, he reached his century and the world applauded in unison. And then, tragedy struck. Gillespie ended one of the greatest innings in the history of ODI cricket, with Bangladesh still 23 runs adrift of victory. They had three overs and five wickets left. Australia sensed blood in the water.

Despair was in the air in anticipation of a collapse from Bangladesh. Aftab Ahmed and Mohammad Rafique then took the fight to the opposition. They needed 7 runs off the last over and Aftab struck Gillespie for six off the very first ball. They took a single next ball and the stadium erupted.

This match has carved a place for itself in cricketing folklore as one of the greatest upsets in the history of the game. They won when no one gave them a chance, they grabbed victory by the scruff of its neck when they were down and out. As Ole Gunner Solskjaer said after Manchester United lost to PSG in the Champions League first leg, "Mountains are there to be climbed."

Bangladesh had reached the summit. And all they could see were proud eyes and clapping hands. The green flag with a red circle flew high as fate opened its book to pen an unlikely tale. The tale of a battle against the odds on one Cardiff afternoon.