Bangladesh-India rivalry expands its territory

The second quarter-final of the 2015 ICC World Cup between Bangladesh and India not only remained confined in the sports arena, the rivalry has also expanded its territory to different sectors proving the depth of animosity of the two south Asian rivals.

Although there is no evidence, many people firmly believe that the result will be influenced by India as they are the defending champions and favourites. A news portal titled BD7news claimed in its facebook page that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has apparently requested Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to ask her countrymen to lose the match. It was also alleged that Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza refused to obey the Premier’s order.

However, a few hours later the item was removed and there was no further link of the website. Maybe it was a silly joke after all.

In another incident, Bangladesh hacker group “Black Hat Hackers” invaded the website of Congress MP and former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor and reminded the Indian cricket team of their history against Bangladesh in World Cups. India have a 24-3 win-loss record against Bangladesh across all competitions but a 1-1 record in World Cups.

The hackers also warned India to “watch their history”, pointing to India’s shocking loss against Bangladesh in the 2007 ICC World Cup, which eventually ousted them from the flagship event in the Caribbean. The hackers went on to talk about India’s loss to Bangladesh in the 2012 Asia Cup.

The hackers targeted Tharoor after he tweeted “rooting for Bangladesh to beat England today in CWC 2015 since England would be more of a challenge to face in the Qfs” on the eve of the Bangladesh-England Pool A match.