'Attack is the best form of defence'

It wasn't too long ago when winning a match seemed to be a near-impossible task for Bangladesh. No matter what the situation of the game was or what position the Tigers were in, they just didn't seem to have it in them to cross the final line.

Be it the shocking defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka, which saw the Lions overcome a perilous 67 for 8, or the lack of belief displayed in the West Indies where the hosts raced to their target of 218 despite being reduced to 34 for 5, the Bangladesh of the past almost irrevocably depended upon a defensive approach.

The Sri Lankans were given an opportunity to thrive with part-time bowlers brought on at that point of time. Once the dangerous Thisara Perera got settled, the mood of that game changed.

Against the West Indies, Mushfiqur Rahim and company failed to stand up against the aggression of Kieron Pollard and Denesh Ramdin.

A year on and the tides have changed. It's the Bangladeshi cricketers who have been looking to assert their authority right from the start of the game.

It was something that was evident in the World Cup, the Pakistan series and also in the game against India on Thursday.

The four-man pace attack was a sign that the hosts meant business; that they were prepared to take the risk of playing an uncapped pacer, since it seemed to be their only real shot at a victory.

While the team management knew that they were playing to India's weakness, they weren't so sure about Mustafizur Rahman. As Mashrafe Bin Mortaza had put it, "Mustafizur was taken as a surprise. I would have been happy even if he had picked up just one wicket. His five-wicket haul amazed me."

It's this new mindset that has developed over the last one year, which has allowed Bangladesh to change their brand of cricket and coach Chandika Hathurusingha has a lot do with this new move.

"The attacking mindset comes if you believe in your ability. You need to create that confidence in the dressing room and confidence in how they train and how they go about doing their jobs," said Hathurusingha.

"When you believe what you are doing is right, it transfers to the aggression on the field. And our guys are really confident in their own game now and whatever happens, they play that way. More often than not, you become victorious if you play aggressive cricket," he added.

A seemingly firm believer of the phrase 'attack is the best form of defence', the Sri Lankan believed that the hosts could have put up a much better show in the first ODI.

"I am not happy at all. Although we won, the scary part is that we still can improve. Not only with our batting, but also in our fielding and bowling execution.

I think we played much better against Pakistan. When you get a start, you always talk about going big in a partnership, which we did against Pakistan. We had three or four hundreds against Pakistan," explained Hathurusingha.

With the 'surprise factor' seemingly playing a big role in this series, it won't be a wonder if the second ODI witnesses more of it.

Bangladesh's batsmen faced deliveries, which came off a board made of granite during their nets sessions yesterday, a training method they had followed prior to the World Cup in order to get accustomed to the bounce in Australia and New Zealand. One suspects that the wicket today could have a lot more bounce and pace on it.