Bangladesh may have spoilt India's party but they haven't stopped singing vanquished skipper Rahul Dravid's praises for his sportsmanship.
Dravid, devastated by India's loss to Bangladesh on March 17 in India's opening game of the 2007 World Cup, gave a good account of the largesse of his spirit after the game.
Once back in his hotel in Port of Spain Trinidad, Dravid asked Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal if he could see him in his room.
Tamim, not knowing what to expect, knocked with a little trepidation at Dravid's door.
To his surprise, he saw Dravid waxing eloquent platitudes on Tamim's brilliant batting on the day.
Tamim had scored a half century in stirring fashion after his side had been set a target of 192 in the afternoon.
The 17-year-old left-hander went after Indian medium-fast bowlers with gusto and even hoisted Zaheer Khan deep into the second tier of the mid-wicket stands.
By the time he was out, Bangladesh was well on its way to scripting one of the most stirring moments of his nation's cricket history.
Dravid, in the evening in his room, not only praised Tamim but also presented him with a bat as a token of his appreciation.
Tamim was overwhelmed but his happiness knew no bounds when Dravid presented him with another bat, to be given to young wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim.
Mushfiqur too had proved a big thorn in India's flesh that day when he scored an important half century for Bangladesh and anchored their innings to safety.
Mushfiqur, promoted to one-drop, had batted sedately and opened out only towards the end to rush his team to victory.
Says Tamim, "I'm overwhelmed. For him to do so after India's chances in the World Cup had taken a knock shows the spirit in which Dravid plays his cricket. We now have a number of admirers for Indian captain in our dressing room."
Dravid is known for such gestures in international cricket.
He is known to advice a number of young cricketers from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka periodically on how to improve their cricket.
A number of Bangladesh cricketers benefitted from his insight and advice on the game when India last toured the neighbouring country in 2004.
Pakistan skipper Younis Khan has acknowledged how Dravid's advice turned around his career in 2004.
It was in 2004 Champions Trophy in England when Younis requested Dravid for batting tips.
"I talked with Dravid who gave me some tips about batting and about life."
"After that everything has changed so I have just followed his instructions and the results are there."
The results were so good for Younis that he, at one stage of his career, had hit four centuries in four Tests against India.
