Underdogs Bangladesh and Ireland turned the ICC World Cup on its head over the weekend when they recorded stunning victories over heavily fancied India and Pakistan respectively.

The Tigers handed India a five-wicket loss in Trinidad while Ireland beat Pakistan by three wickets in Jamaica on one, if not, the most sacred day on the Irish calendar — St.Patrick’s Day.

The results proved that so-called “minnows” can compete and achieve against more established teams on the big stage.

Premier Ewart Brown, who witnessed Bangladesh’s dominant display at the famous Queen’s Park Oval, believes Bermuda too can be a force on the international stage, but only with the right approach and the will to succeed.

“What we’ve seen here today is what can be achieved when a team comes prepared with a commitment and things go right for them. And the same thing can happen for Bermuda,” he said.

Bangladesh dismissed India for 191 in 49.3 overs and then polished off the required runs with nine balls to spare.

It was the Asian’s third win overall at a World Cup and biggest since defeating Pakistan in the 1999 tournament in England.

Bermuda will meet Bangladesh next Sunday at the Oval in what could be the Island’s 2007 World Cup farewell.

“Of course this probably makes our match with Bangladesh a little more difficult, but that’s all right because we will be ready for them,” Brown said.

Sports Minister Randy Horton also witnessed Bangladesh’s superb all-round display against India.

“I would definitely say that India were outplayed today and I think this match was really the ultimate in terms of excitement,” he said.

“Bangladesh’s approach to the game certainly showed that even the best teams in the world can be beaten.” Even India skipper Rahul Dravid admitted afterwards his team did not show up for the occasion.

“We didn’t play to our full potential and paid the price for it. And this was a big disappointment,” he said.

“Defending 191 runs and getting wickets at regular intervals was never going to be easy. The guys tried hard, but I think we needed probably 35-40 runs more. But Bangladesh have improved and are playing some very good cricket at the moment.” Dravid’s opposite number Habibul Bashar took victory all in stride.

“It is a World Cup and it is against India and is very important to us,” he said.