Perhaps there was really a devil in the pitch. Or maybe Bangladesh could succumb to the pressure exerted by Indian bowlers; after all, they had dismissed West Indies for less than 100 just the other day.
The Rediff expert decided that the odds were slightly in India's favour as the match began; so Bangladesh's initial Pressure Index (PI) was above 100.
Bangladesh started very confidently reaching 24 for 0 in just 4 overs, and the PI came down to 86.
When Zaheer Khan got Shahriar Nafees in the 5th over, the PI briefly rose over 100 again. The PI stayed around 100 till the tenth over as Bangladesh chose to be watchful.
But then Tamim Iqbal launched such a memorable assault that it took less than 3 overs for the PI to drop to 65.
Bangladesh's pressure index never rose above 100 again (which is the same thing as saying that India's PI never fell below 100 again).
With the score on 76 for 3 and Munaf Patel looking sufficiently menacing, the PI rose to 86.
But the two other youngsters, Mushfiqur Rahim and Saqibul Hasan then took over. Both would score half-centuries as Bangladesh raced to a truly famous victory.
Data retrieved from the Cranes-Rediff scorer room. Chart prepared by Sunil T of Cranes Software.
