Reaction to landmark Bangladesh win over India is a tribute to their established place in cricket's top tier

NICK HOWSON: Victory in Delhi was set against an awful build-up, a smog-riddled capital, and a disgraced captain - yet the most over-resourced side on the planet were swatted aside

Wars fought over borders. Dictators promoting human rights abuse. X-Factor winners becoming the Christmas No.1. The longer an atrocity continues, the more it becomes normalised.

Since attaining full membership of the International Cricket Council in 1986, Bangladesh have waged their own battle on their status as underdogs.

From their inaugural Test in 2000, the breakthrough win over Australia in Cardiff five years later to earning direct entry to 12 successive 50 and 20-over World Cups, landmark moments have been as regular as they have been glorious.

International cricket's old firm have been disrupted and broken up. The landscape has been altered completely thanks to nations like Bangladesh - with Afghanistan, Ireland and the associates pulling their weight also.

Though you would have trouble getting the point through to their obsessed fanbase, the World Cup victories over South Africa and two-time winners West Indies, while they were memorable, could barely be regarded as a surprise. While it was just their fourth win over The Proteas - the third since July 2015 - it was the 15th against the Caribbean giants.

Another red-letter day in Bangladesh's recent cricketing history came on Sunday in Delhi, as they toppled India for the first time in a T20. But bar the smog which has descended on the capital during "pollution season", this was anything but an eye-watering victory.

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Recent history had told us that such a result was imminent. The Tigers had fallen at the final hurdle against their south Asian rivals twice in this format during the last three years. The first was as harrowing as they come, a single run defeat in Bengaluru in the most recent T20 World Cup when two were required from the last three deliveries.

Two years later Bangladesh lost their nerve again, with a last-ball six from Dinesh Karthik delivering India the most unlikely victory in the Nidahas Twenty20 Tri-Series Final.

Couple such demons with a build-up better fitting of the seasonal special of your favourite soap opera than an international sports team then the seismic nature of this latest success can be fully appreciated.

A fortnight ago players were on strike, with 13 demands handed down to the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the tour in major doubt. Though the dispute was finally settled, BCB president Nazmul Hasan Papon was still expecting the players to wriggle out of the trip and claimed a third party was behind the action. Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Saifuddin had already withdrawn due to respective personal issues and injury.

Then came the bombshell. Having not yet joined up with the squad to prepare for the tour, captain and talisman Shakib Al Hasan was handed a two-year ban (12 months suspended) after pleading guilty to three anti-corruption charges relating to failing to report approaches.

That the team could suffer such tribulations over the last fortnight and yet prevail is a tribute to their talent and new-found mental fortitude.

^{Shakib Al Hasan led the players strike before being banned by the ICC}

India might have been without Virat Kohli but that does not in any way diminish the achievement. This is the most over-resourced team in world cricket underpinned by the biggest franchise competition in the sport. That India have not won the T20 World Cup since the IPL's inception in 2008 is as laughable as it is baffling.

Though this might have been against the bookmakers' odds, at no stage did the seven-wicket win feel like Bangladesh had upset the applecart to the point of lunacy. India's 148 for 6, of course, felt under-par, but with the inevitability of a James Bond cliffhanger, logic dictates that they find a way out of such a muddle.

Though Liton Das went early to a rather unnecessary cut, Bangladesh's batsman cut figures of calm which betrayed the pressure which surely existed beneath. Soumya Sarkar is now well-versed in such occasions and he was breathtaking at times, both in his execution and discipline. His 39 was at a rather prosaic strike-rate of 111.42, but his two sixes which were reverse swept with aplomb were brilliantly selective.

Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah were among those who failed to get Bangladesh over the line during that World Cup near-miss but they didn't miss the chance to exorcise those misgivings. Wicket-keeper Mushfiqur was self-aware enough to delay his onslaught until Khaleel Ahmed's reintroduction. His fluid stroke-making - punctuated by four consecutive boundaries in the penultimate over turned what could have been a grandstand finale into a comfortable victory. Mahmudullah's own flourish eventually secured the success.

"The last two-three weeks has been the toughest situation that I have faced in my 15-year cricketing career," explained Mushfiqur.

^{Virat Kohli has been rested for the series in an effort to manage his workload}

"I said to the journalists before leaving Bangladesh that the only way to return to the right track would be with a couple of wins in India. It will bring back smiles and calmness to the team and the nation.

"We came here as underdogs. To come back from that, especially giving the youngsters the freedom and giving them confidence; whether you give 20 runs in an over or get out first ball, you are still a member of this team.

"We have been giving this message to the rest of the team. I want them to take eight or 10 years to reach what I have reached in 15 years."

With two more T20s and a two-Test duel to follow, history tells us that India generally go and resume normal service. Though those with half-an-eye on the T20 showcase in Australia or the World Test Championship might suggest otherwise, but those outcomes are rather inconsequential.

Bangladesh's new ground might have been largely overlooked because of the irreverence around bilateral T20 series, but it speaks more to their status within the international game that such an achievement is a mere footnote these days. The Tigers are here to stay, not that you need telling.