Despite the T20I series loss against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh can take positives from it

Bangladesh lost the third and final T20I against Sri Lanka by 28 runs in the end, losing the series 2-1 and ending a streak of five T20I series without a losing one on Saturday.

However, despite the loss, there were plenty of positives for the Tigers with the T20 World Cup looming large on the horizon for Najmul Hossain Shanto and his troops.

Leg-spinner Rishad Hossain had a series to remember with the ball and then with the bat as well in the final match.

He scored 53 runs from 30 balls, his first international fifty and hit only sixes - seven of them to be exact and a record for the most number of sixes hit by a batter for Bangladesh in T20Is - in that innings, giving the hosts a modicum of hope for an unlikely victory. 

The 21-year-old's bowling has been a big positive too, as he comes from a country where leg-spinners are massively underutilised and not given chances in domestic cricket due to inconducive pitches and run-saving tactics from clubs. 

He ended the series with three wickets and two of them came in the last match with an economy of exactly eight, which can be considered good on batting-friendly pitches.

The way he remained unfazed even when the Sri Lankan batters charged him was a highlight of his bowling.

"Rishad bowled really well given the conditions. We needed him with the bat as we have six recognised batters and someone at no.7 needed to contribute. He did that and that will hold him in good stead for the future," said in the post-match press conference.

Speaking of pitches, one feels that Bangladesh will be in better stead ahead of the World Cup, especially in terms of batting, due to batting on Sylhet's sporting wickets.

The new stadium in New York is supposed to have drop-in pitches and could be batting-friendly ones.

Even if that's not the case, having batters scoring runs, and quickly is something that Bangladesh have always lacked in T20 cricket, and that is something that could prepare them better for the big tournament.

"We should absolutely play T20 cricket in these sort of pitches. Bowlers are getting more experience on how to bowl in more batter-friendly surfaces while batters are learning how to chase 170-200 runs. I think this is good preparation ahead of the World Cup," Shanto expressed.  

Rishad aside, we saw fifties from Mahmudullah Riyad, Jaker Ali and Shanto while Towhid Hridoy, Litton Das and Soumya Sarkar also got good stats in different matches in the series.

"I think there were plenty of positives overall The way we came back despite losing early wickets in the first match and in this one. And the way our bowlers fought back in this match. These will help us in the future," Shanto added.

Another positive was the bowling of Shoriful Islam, who was Bangladesh's most economical bowler in the series with an economy of 7.91.

The left-arm pacer has almost become the leader of the pack, bowling well in all phases of play in the third match, despite being expensive at the death in the first T20I.

And when it comes to death bowling and death overs bowlers, in particular, Mustafizur Rahman, the designated death overs bowler was poor throughout the series with an economy of 10.91 and 131 runs conceded - the most among all bowlers from both teams in the series. 

Shanto's captaincy was also left wanting in the third game when he went with more orthodox bowling changes and brought the spinner Mahedi Hasan on instead of continuing with the pacers Shoriful and Taskin Ahmed were bowling well. 

In the middle overs, Sri Lanka's captain Wanindu Hasaranga elevated himself up the order, and given his exploits against spin, Shanto took the spinners off the attack and brought Mustafiz back.

That resulted in the set batter Kusal Mendis scoring big against him in the 10th over, which went for 18 runs. 

Perhaps continuing with Shoriful or Taskin more in that period could have taken the wicket of Kusal earlier, who ended up scoring 86 from 55 balls and was the Player of the Series with the most number of runs - 181.

Shanto however felt he was right in his bowling changes adding: "Yes, Mustafiz had that expensive over. He has proved himself in the past and we are not worried about his form at all. We have to focus on how we have bowled overall as a team and how many runs we have restricted the opposition to is more important." 

Mohammad Saifuddin had a good Bangladesh Premier League and many have been asking if he should have been part of the team Shanto felt "he has come back from a big injury and if we can give him a bit more time in domestic cricket, then he will definitely be in the mind of the selectors."

Perhaps it was those four overs by Mustafiz that went for 47 runs - the most conceded by any bowler in the match - that proved to be one of the key differentiating factors between both teams, along with that fiery spell by Nuwan Thushara, who took 5-20 in his four overs for the visitors, including a hattrick. 

In the end, though, there are plenty of positives to draw inspiration from for the home side, despite the series loss.