'We are playing aggressive cricket, how much more aggressive do you want to see?'

Attack after attack — that's how Bangladesh's batting approach has been in the Netherlands series. Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Saif Hasan are turning the Dutch bowling, which is comparatively weaker, upside down by hitting boundaries and sixes. When the topic of aggressive batting came up at yesterday's press conference, Tanzid Tamim seemed quite fired up.

In Sylhet, Bangladesh won both T20 internationals against the Netherlands comfortably by winning the toss and choosing to field first, then chasing down the target with ease. Looking at the scorecards of these two matches, won by 8 and 9 wickets respectively, the aggressive batting of Litton Das, Tanzid Tamim, and others becomes even clearer. In the first and second T20 matches, Bangladesh's run rates while chasing were 10.22 and 7.89 respectively. After the second T20 yesterday, Tanzid Tamim spoke as Bangladesh's representative. On aggressive batting, the young left-handed batter said, "We are playing aggressive cricket. How much more aggressive do you want to see?"

It's evident that the power-hitting tips from coach Julian Wood during Bangladesh's training sessions are working wonders. Making a return to international cricket after 22 years, Saif Hasan scored an unbeaten 36 off 19 balls in the first T20. Litton Das, who was searching for his form, played a stormy fifty in that match (54* off 29 balls). In yesterday's second T20, Saif and Litton did not need to bat. Tanzid Tamim played a calm innings, scoring 54* off 40 balls. At the press conference, he said, "The whole team has been given freedom. Everyone can play in their own way. The team management has said to use your responsibilities well on the field."

Statistics prove that Bangladesh's batters have now become experts at hitting sixes. In 2025, Bangladesh ranks third among ICC full-member teams in sixes hit in international T20s. In 22 T20 matches this year, Bangladesh has hit 109 sixes. West Indies and Pakistan lead this list with 130 sixes each. Earlier, Bangladesh batters could rarely clear the boundary regularly, but now players like Tanzid Tamim and Parvez Hossain Emon are consistently hitting sixes. On this, Tanzid Tamim said, "I wasn't even in the dressing room before. In T20s, everyone is given a role. Freedom is also given. Using it well on the field is what matters."

Since 2024, in international T20s, Tanzid Tamim has scored 738 runs in 31 matches, averaging 27.33 with a strike rate of 129.02. He has scored four fifties and hit 34 sixes, 23 of which came this year. Against the Netherlands yesterday, he hit 2 sixes. Earlier, in the first T20, Litton and Saif hit 2 and 3 sixes respectively. Tomorrow in Sylhet, Liton and team will aim to thrash the Dutch again. The third Bangladesh-Netherlands T20 will start at 6 pm Bangladesh time.

At the same venue, in the same fashion, Bangladesh again dismantled the Netherlands. Having won two consecutive T20 matches in Sylhet, Bangladesh, led by Liton Das, sealed the series with one match to spare. However, whether Bangladesh will adopt a different strategy in the third match remains unclear according to Tanzid Hasan Tamim.

In both the first two T20s of the series, Bangladesh captain Liton won the toss and chose to field. In Saturday's first T20, Bangladesh posted 136 on the scoreboard but chased it down with Litton and Tanzid Tamim finishing comfortably with 39 balls to spare. In yesterday's second T20, the Netherlands were bowled out for just 103. Chasing 104, Bangladesh scored it in 13.1 overs with the loss of one wicket. While the opposition struggled to bat at 6-7 runs per over, Bangladesh chased at run rates of 10.22 and 7.89 to win both matches.

When asked at the press conference whether Bangladesh should have chosen to bat first on the sporting wicket to sharpen their batting, Tanzid Tamim declined to comment directly and instead pointed the question towards Litton and Phil Simmons. He said, "The decision to field after winning the toss is well known to the captain, coach, and team management. I cannot comment on that."

Choosing to field after winning the toss and restricting the opposition to a low total before chasing is now a common sight in T20 cricket. Bangladesh tried this approach once against the Netherlands. But before heading to the Asia Cup, to be played on batting-friendly pitches in the UAE, was there an opportunity to try something different in the second T20 in Sylhet? Tanzid Tamim responded, "Everyone wants to take advantage of the home conditions. In the previous match, there was heavy dew. That made batting easier later. You saw that. Even yesterday, the same thought was that dew might fall."

With one match left, Bangladesh leads the T20 series 2-0. In both matches, Bangladesh's bowlers have been named Man of the Match. Taskin Ahmed won the award in the first T20, while Nasum Ahmed was the best player yesterday with 3 wickets for 21 runs in 4 overs. Tomorrow in Sylhet, Litton and team will aim to thrash the Dutch once more. The third Bangladesh-Netherlands T20 starts at 6 pm Bangladesh time.