Bangladesh beats south africa by 21 runs

Today, Bangladesh gave the performance this tournament desperately needed. A display of verve, of energy, of tenacity, standing in contrast to the previous four matches of this World Cup which had generally been disappointing and dull. This Bangladesh team were anything but. Their supporters, who made The Oval their own, matched their team's energy. And make no mistake, beating a more fancied South African team, on the biggest stage, in their opening game, was quite a statement. Bangladesh are here to dance.

Ranked seventh in the world, some suggest they should be lumped in with Sri Lanka and Afghanistan as one of the weaker teams at this World Cup. Nonsense. Their ranking is misleading. In the 12 months leading up to this tournament, they had the fourth best win-loss record of all the teams that are here. In Shakib al Hasan, they have the world's best all-rounder. In Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim, they have two batsmen averaging more than 50 in the last year. They have now won 15 of their last 23 ODIs.

This team were once the plucky underdogs, able to spring the odd surprise but no more. Then they became a force to be reckoned with at home, but flaky away. Now they are a more complete team in ODI cricket, winning more regularly overseas, and yet still they are written off, still disrespected, still lumped in with Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

Playing a side predicted to reach the semi-finals in their opening game was an opportunity to change that narrative, to finally gain the respect their recent one-day cricket has deserved. They grabbed it with both hands, the victory a vindication of everything they are and have been for a while. Playing the so-called big countries does not scare Bangladesh. They know they can match most sides. You could tell they relished it today. They looked into South Africa's eyes and stared them down.

From the early aggression from Soumya Sarkar and Iqbal to the cold, calculated 142-run partnership between Rahim and Shakib; from the late innings hitting from Mahmudullah to the skill and consistency of Shakib and Mehidy Hasan, this was the performance of the tournament so far, the performance of a lifetime for these players because of the message it sent out, the stage it was delivered on. Nobody is writing off Bangladesh now. The possibilities for the rest of the tournament know no bounds.