Youngsters stepping up when needed

The match was half-won in the first innings thanks to Mehidy Hasan Miraz's career-best bowling of 4/12. But there was still some drama left to unfold and Najmul Hossain Shanto, who has been brilliant with the bat in this series, had to come to the rescue to take the Tigers home. Shanto's unbeaten 46-run innings helped beat the world champions England by four wickets. It also sealed Bangladesh's first-ever bilateral series win over the current white ball champions. 

Gone were the days when Bangladesh remained dependent on senior players to win a match. The likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim single-handedly won Bangladesh matches on a couple of occasions. But now, the youngsters are stepping up and they are providing match-winning performances whenever the team needs them. 

It was the trio of Shanto, Rony and Hridoy in the first T20I with the bat. Shanto did steal the spotlight, but Rony Talukdar and Towhid Hridoy also played a valuable part in the victory at Chattogram, playing their second and first T20I respectively. 

In the second T20I at Mirpur on Sunday, it was more of a team effort. And the youngsters played the most crucial part, again. 

Miraz's four-wicket haul has already been talked about. He picked up some important wickets in important moments of the game. First, he sent Moeen Ali back to the pavilion. Moeen was looking to get set after playing 16 balls. Then he bagged back-to-back wickets in the 15th over just when England were looking to accelerate. 

His batting was equally important on Sunday. Playing a 20-run innings off 16 balls, he took the pressure away from Shanto in the middle overs and it's no wonder he was adjudged the player of the match.

Shanto, just as he did in the first T20I, repeated the performance in Mirpur. He came to the crease when Bangladesh were one down in the third over chasing a tricky target. He saw the required run rate going a bit up and his partners at the other end giving away their wickets, but he remained calm. 

He built two important partnerships with Hridoy and Miraz which eventually proved very useful in the tricky chase. The southpaw remained unbeaten scoring less than a run a ball, but that was needed for the team's sake. 

The young pacers have played a crucial part in both matches. Hasan Mahmud, for example, bowled brilliantly at the death in Chattogram and picked up the vital wicket of England skipper Jos Buttler. And that was a brilliant yorker to send someone like Buttler back in the hut.

Taskin Ahmed has been doing well for quite some time now. He breathes fire whenever he runs with the ball in his hand. And on Sunday, he picked up the important wicket of Dawid Malan who single-handedly won England the first ODI in Mirpur. 

What has changed for youngsters recently? One may ask. 

"There is a shift of mentality among the players. They are playing with a positive mindset and courage," Miraz said at the post-match press conference. 

He mentioned that the youngsters are playing good cricket when needed and it has been the key for the Tigers.

"Young players are coming in and playing good cricket. Towhid Hridoy made his debut in this series but he didn't look like e newcomer. Shanto has been heavily criticised but he is now playing great cricket since the T20 World Cup. He was the highest runscorer and now in this series, he has batted brilliantly. These little things have really worked," he concluded.