‘If they can, so can we’
T20 cricket has been Bangladesh's Achilles heel for a long time. The Tigers' record in the format has been way below par and their style of play, planning, mindset and approach in T20s have always left a lot to be desired.
However, things have changed in the past few weeks. Following a dominant 3-0 series sweep of world champions England earlier this month, Bangladesh began the three-match T20I series against Ireland in commanding fashion in Chattogram yesterday.
The 22-run victory [via DLS] in the rain-affected game at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium not only helped the Tigers take a 1-0 lead in the series and see them record their best winning streak in the format with four wins in a row, but also showed that the Shakib Al Hasan-led side could finally become a force to be reckoned with in the format.
In the past, even in the Tigers' rare wins in T20Is, Bangladesh's performances often did not include the elements that fans look for in a T20 contest. Rarely have the Tigers dominated things on the batting front in T20Is as they did during their 207 for five in 19.2 overs yesterday.
Openers Rony Talukdar and Liton Das starred in a blistering 91-run opening stand as the Tigers set a number of records. Liton began by taking on Harry Tector, using his feet to hit the off-spinner for a maximum over long-on in the very first over.
Bangladesh never slowed down since, with Rony joining in on the act and surpassing Liton when it came to putting away the Irish bowlers for boundaries. Courtesy of their carnage, Bangladesh recorded the fastest team fifty by any side in T20Is at the venue, crossing the 50-run mark in just 4.1 overs.
The duo also amassed 81 for no loss in the Powerplay -- the highest accumulation for Bangladesh in the first six overs in T20Is.
"It felt amazing [seeing Rony and Liton play]. We saw South Africa score over 100 [102] in the Powerplay in their game against West Indies yesterday [Sunday]. We were wondering if something similar was afoot here," Taskin Ahmed, who registered career-best T20I figures of four for 16 in two overs, said.
In a record T20I chase, the Proteas on Sunday got to the 259-run target set by the West Indies with six wickets in hand and seven balls to spare in Centurion -- a game that had plenty of entertainment in store for the T20 lovers.
Although it has not happened often in the past for Bangladesh, the Tigers now think that they too can pull off something like the Proteas in the coming days.
"After Liton got out and came to the dressing room, I asked him: 'Were you hitting like that after witnessing South Africa's game last night?' And he said: 'Yes, if they can do it, so can we'," Taskin added.
What Liton said to Taskin only shows that the players have already imbibed head coach Chandika Hathurusingha's philosophy of aggressive and fearless cricket by disregarding the fear of failure.
And that is not only the case for batters as similar aggression was shown by Taskin himself with the ball in hand. Being set a revised target of 104 runs in eight overs, Ireland had gotten off to a great start, amassing 32 for no loss in the first two overs.
Pacer Hasan Mahmud broke the deadlock in the third over before Taskin buried Ireland with three wickets in the fourth over to see them reeling at 44 for four -- from where the visitors could not bounce back.
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