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PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Bangladesh skipper Habibul Bashar said his team's shock cricket World Cup win over India today would go a long way in earning them respect from established teams.
Bashar said their group B victory would help the team get more frequent games against top notch sides.
"This is a very important victory for Bangladesh," an elated Bashar said.
He rated the victory higher than beating Pakistan in the 1999 edition in England because of the team's progress.
"This is the World Cup and today people came expecting us to do well. Beating India is not an easy thing," he added.
"This means a lot to Bangladesh. Now we can hope to go to the next round."
Bangladesh upstaged India by five wickets after bowling them out for 191 on a good batting pitch at Queen's Park Oval.
It was only their third World Cup victory, having shocked Pakistan and beaten Scotland eight years ago.
Bashar and paceman Mashrafe Mortaza, man-of-the-match, dedicated the win to team mate Manjural Islam, who died in a road accident in Bangladesh on Friday.
Bangladesh benefited a lot from arriving early in the Caribbean to play in a one-day tri-series for associates, which they won.
They also underlined their intentions with a surprise two-wicket win over third-ranked New Zealand in a warm-up match 11 days ago.
"That (tri-series win) had a big impact on our preparation.
"The warm-up victory over New Zealand gave us a lot of confidence," he said.
"I realised if we do our job we can beat the big guns."
Bashar praised his players for their teamwork.
Mortaza, 23, grabbed four wickets after his two early strikes pegged India back. Left-arm spinners Mohammad Rafique and Abdur Razzak then took three wickets.
"They did much more than I expected," Bashar said.
"To bowl like this to India in the middle overs is not easy."
Bashar said his players could not contain their joy.
"It is very hard to keep our feet on the ground right now," he said. "The boys can't stop jumping.
"Today we will celebrate, and focus again from tomorrow."
Sri Lanka and debutants Bermuda are the other teams in the group. The tournament ends with the final on April 28.
- REUTERS
