Shakib Al Hasan’s Bangladesh beat England 3-0 in a bilateral T20I series, but does it Bangladesh a force to be reckoned with in the 20-overs format?
In Short
- Bangladesh beat England 3-0 in a bilateral ODI series
- Bangladesh whitewashed a team for the second time in T20Is
- Najmul Hossain Shanto became the leading run-scorer of the series
By Sabyasachi Chowdhury: Bangladesh were never a force in T20Is, not even on their own turf. Let’s accept it. The Tigers have been unstoppable at home in ODIs, but in the 20-over format, they looked lost, short of ideas and befuddled on being put under pressure.
In 2007, Bangladesh beat the West Indies on the back of Mohammad Ashraful’s 20-ball fifty. It happened to be the Tigers’ maiden game in the T20 World Cup. 2007 was a pleasant year for them as they also beat India and South Africa in the 50-over World Cup.
Even as in ODIs, they went on to show quite a bit of improvement, in T20Is, they hardly found their feet. In fact, after getting the better of the Caribbean team at the Wanderers, it took them 15 years to win another T20 World Cup game against a full-member nation (Zimbabwe).
Come 2023, and there’s HOPE
The phase of transition
Shakib Al Hasan’s T20 strike-rate is 121.65, which suggests that he prefers to play through an innings, not taking undue risks. But in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2023, it was the same Shakib, who plundered runs at a strike-rate of 174.41. At one point in time, the strike-rate was nearly 200.
It was as if Shakib was on a mission of his own. Back in the Asia Cup where Bangladesh failed to advance to the Super 4, he said that the Tigers are in transition mode and one can’t expect changes overnight. The changes didn’t arrive immediately as they failed to advance beyond the Super 12 of the T20 World Cup 2023 on Australian soil.
But the scare they gave to India and Pakistan, although for a brief while, showed that Bangladesh were on to something. The only one-sided game they lost was against South Africa where Rilee Rossouw’s hundred and raw pace from Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and others caught them napping.
Start of something special?
Back to T20Is, prior to the series against England, Bangladesh stayed winless in five series in a row. After winning three back-to-back series in 2021 against Zimbabwe, Australia and New Zealand, they were struggling to get going, even in favourable home conditions.
After winning the ODI series 2-1, England were expected to steamroll Bangladesh in T20Is. And, why not? England are the reigning world champions while Bangladesh had to work out of their skin to secure even one victory in the format.
Moreover, England had beaten Bangladesh in their only meeting in the T20 World Cup in 2021. But in the end, the scoreline read 3-0 in favour of Bangladesh. While it was their second T20I whitewash after beating Ireland in 2012, it was their first against a full-member nation.
No rank turners this time
The pitches in Bangladesh, especially in Mirpur, are known for their prodigious turn and bounce. When the Aussies toured the Asian country back in 2021, targets of 120 seemed like 200. Such were the pitches. Barring Mitchell Marsh, not a single batter looked secure in the middle.
This time around against England, batters played their shots freely, at least more than how it used to be earlier. Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Jos Buttler and Phil Salt showed that run-making wasn’t tough. Spin has always been Bangladesh’s strength and they played to their strength.