Tigers finally playing a fearless brand of T20 cricket that fans have been hoping for

Bangladesh's five-match winning streak in T20Is, their longest till date, was broken as they succumbed to a crushing defeat against Ireland on Friday. After dominating the whole white-ball series, the end was rather tame for the hosts but they didn't really mind given that they knew their new-found approach could backfire any match. 

There were glimpses during the England series but Bangladesh showed in the just-concluded Ireland series how they want to play the shortest format. Since the inception of the format, there have always been talks of playing fearlessly and with freedom but it had never really been materialised. 

When S Sriram took charge of the T20I team last year before the Asia Cup, he spoke at length about the importance of "intent" in this format. Bangladesh could never crack powerplay batting in this format and Sriram recognised the need of going hard inside the first six overs.

He tried a new opening pair in Sabbir Rahman and Mehidy Hasan Miraz and gave them the license to go all guns blazing. The move never paid off and he had to revert to the more conventional options. But that was the start and it was evident from Shakib Al Hasan's recent comments where he said that they were trying to bring about a change in approach since the Asia Cup.

Chandika Hathurusingha then returned to Bangladesh for a second coaching spell and his role was broader than that of Sriram and what worked in his favour was that he knew the players better. Hathurusingha believes in role clarity and straightaway there was a change in their powerplay batting.

Rony Talukdar was recalled to the team after a stellar BPL. It was a groundbreaking selection in many ways and the way he batted in six innings so far after that was exemplary. 

Bangladesh scored 54 and 46 in the powerplay in the first and third England T20I respectively. More than the number of runs, the approach from Rony, Litton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto was refreshing as they invariably looked to clear the in-field, taking advantage of the field restrictions.

But those were early days and it was not very clear whether Bangladesh were going to stick to the gung-ho approach.

Then came the Ireland series and they stayed true to the new approach. Rony grew in confidence and Litton looked a more accomplished hitter. They smashed 81 in the powerplay in the first T20I, their highest, and 83 in the first six overs in a rain-hit second T20I. Among teams playing at least three T20Is this year, Bangladesh's powerplay run rate of 9.34 (in six innings) is only behind that of South Africa and the West Indies. 

Bangladesh have always been a slow-scoring T20I side. Their run rate of 7.46 in T20Is is the second-worst among the Full Members and something needed to be done to solve this problem. It's a well-known fact that this has a lot to do with playing the bulk of their home matches on low, slow Mirpur tracks.

Tamim Iqbal, the captain of the ODI side, revealed that Hathurusingha encouraged them to play more on batting-friendly wickets and he even said that hosting white-ball games in Sylhet and Chattogram is a "step forward".

Bangladesh's run rate in the Ireland T20Is was 9.57, by far their best in a three-match T20I series and before that, Bangladesh never had a three-match series with a run rate of as many as nine per over. 

Litton Das struck at 198.52 and Rony Talukdar at 176.05 in the series. These are the highest strike rates by Bangladeshi batters in a three-match T20I series (minimum 100 runs). Not only them, Shakib Al Hasan's strike rate was 148.83 and young Towhid Hridoy continued in his merry way (strike rate of 158.06) despite not making big contributions. 

Najmul Hossain Shanto failed in the Ireland series but he was the highest run-getter against England. He had been under fire for his strike rate but improved that big time in that series (170 in the first T20I and 130 in the third). 

We have talked about Rony. Don't forget that he has been drafted into the side on the back of his BPL performance. The tournament has not produced many players and it's always been rocked by controversies. But Bangladesh picked the best performers of the BPL after the completion of the tournament and it has worked for them.

One of them is Hasan Mahmud. He has been around but injuries and the presence of players like Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam and Ebadot Hossain made his job slightly difficult. But he showed at the BPL that his death bowling skill was the best in the country. Going for less than eight runs per over at the death, he earned the job of a designated death bowler in the side and has so far excelled in the role. 

Hridoy was probably the find of the tournament and his big hitting took many by surprise. He was immediately called up to the side despite suggestions of the decision being "too early" by his BPL captain Mashrafe Mortaza. The way he batted in the middle overs in the T20Is and also in ODIs was sometimes breathtaking. 

In 2020, Kevin Pietersen said, "All I think of Bangladesh is about left-arm spin." But spin has quietly taken a backseat in the team and it's the fast bowlers who are leading the way now.

In a series dominated by the batters, Taskin Ahmed became the player of the series with eight wickets against Ireland. No Bangladesh bowler has taken more wickets than him in a three-match bilateral series. 

Even in Bangladesh where pitches tend to assist the spinners, pacers have taken more wickets than spinners in T20Is over the last 12 months. And this has been possible because of playing on unconventional Bangladesh pitches where the ball comes onto the bat more.

And the pacers have got Allan Donald overseeing their progress. He not only spends time with the frontline pacers but also the fringe players as well to keep a second batch of fast bowlers ready. 

Now Bangladesh look well-prepared to play on pitches that suit the batters more. They have express pacers to rattle opposition teams and the batting is improving every series. There will be odd bad days like the third Ireland T20I but with the 2024 T20 World Cup in sight, the Tigers have embraced a new approach and are ready to establish their own T20 brand even if at the expense of some failures.