Hyderabad hammering sums up Bangladesh's need for change

Mahmudullah took one final crack towards long-on, only for Riyan Parag to intercept the shot a few yards inside the rope. His long-time team-mate Tamim Iqbal was on air to pay him a tribute as he walked back to the Hyderabad dressing room. Earlier in the day, the Bangladesh players had presented Mahmudullah with a crest to mark his T20I retirement. By the time he got out, the visitors required 168 runs at 31.11 per over. India's 297 for 6 is the second-highest men's T20 total of all time. Not everyone from the shell-shocked Bangladesh dugout stood up to applaud him as he crossed the rope.

Mahmudullah departs the Bangladesh T20I team at a troubled time. India have dismantled them in their first bilateral series in the format since their underwhelming T20 World Cup campaign earlier in the year. The difference between the two sides was not just that of the world champions and another team. It was worse. India played the high-risk, high-reward game, a version of T20 batting that gets refined almost every month. Bangladesh are lagging behind, playing an archaic form of T20 cricket.

India's margins of victory in the three matches are evidence enough of this gulf. They won with 49 balls remaining in Gwalior, and then by 86 runs in Delhi and finally 133 runs in Hyderabad. The last game on Saturday was a fiasco for Bangladesh. Sanju Samson struck a 40-ball century, sharing a 173-run second wicket stand with captain Suryakumar Yadav. The innings included 25 fours and 22 sixes, adding up to 232 runs, setting a new world record for most runs from boundaries in a T20I innings.

The fast bowlers couldn't repeat their Delhi performance, conceding 169 runs in 12 overs. Taskin Ahmed could only smile as he was carted around. Tanzim Hasan removed Abhishek Sharma in his first over, but then got hit for half a dozen sixes. Mustafizur Rahman couldn't stem the flow of runs despite having the most experience at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, among the Bangladesh bowlers, having played nine IPL games there.

Legspinner Rishad Hossain was hammered for 30 runs in his second over, while Mahedi Hasan's darts made him the most economical bowler on the night for them, still going at 11.25.

Bangladesh also messed up a few chances, chiefly the run-out opportunity in the 18th over. Parag and Hardik Pandya were both at the striker's end. Wicketkeeper Litton Das had plenty of time to effect the dismissal but his throw at the non-strikers' end was poor. It went right over the bowler, Mustafizur's head, and led to a misfield from the Najmul Hossain Shanto backing up from mid-off. India ended up getting the single. Shanto slammed the ball in disgust.

For all that though, it is really Bangladesh's batting that has led them down into the doldrums. The 164 for 7 they made on Saturday was their best day of the series and yet they were 133 runs short of India's total. The top order couldn't put together one decent partnership. Litton Das and Shanto batted poorly, throwing away their wickets after initial bursts of boundaries. Newcomer Parvez Hossain Emon has a lot to work on. Bangladesh have nothing in the way of a viable opening partnership. And without that foundation the rest of their line-up is shapeless.

"A big score becomes easier to get with runs from the top order, at least till No. 4," Hridoy, who made 63 off 42 balls, said in Hyderabad. "I think we have to improve as a batting group. It has been happening for a long time now. We are hopeful that we can take lessons from this series. We have lacked in every department. We didn't bowl well or bat well in every game. We have a lot to improve. We don't play in these [batting-friendly] wickets. You have seen that too. This is not an excuse, but the more we play on these wickets, we will get more used to [them]."

Shanto and Taskin have raised similar concerns but Hridoy went further. "Most of our players can't read wickets," he said. "We play most of our matches in Mirpur [where spin plays a dominant role] and sometimes in Chittagong. If we keep playing on good wickets, we won't change overnight, but we will slowly improve.

"I wouldn't say that our standard is too low. We were competing against a very strong side. They are T20 world champions. They are ahead of us in terms of skills, and they know their home conditions. I think we are a good side but we need to know how to play better on flat wickets."

The 3-0 loss against India was Bangladesh's third bilateral series defeat this year. They have also lost to Sri Lanka at home and USA in Texas. They did poorly in the T20 World Cup. The big question now is whether Bangladesh will continue to play T20s in this manner or are they looking for a longer discussion about playing the game differently?