Bangladesh finally halted an eight-match skid in one-day cricket, edging Sri Lanka by 16 runs in Colombo thanks largely to an unflappable left-arm spinner playing only his second ODI. Tanvir Islam shook off an ugly opening burst to claim 5 for 39, put the brakes on a brisk home chase and square the three-match series at 1-1.
Bangladesh’s 248 never looked imposing. Kusal Mendis struck Tanvir for two fours and a six in the spinner’s first power-play over, and Sri Lanka cruised to 72 for 1. But Tanvir, nudged on by his captain, straightened his length, aimed at the stumps and let the pitch do the rest.
“When I conceded 22 runs in the first two overs, the captain stood next to me and said something,” Tanvir said. “He said that a bowler is bound to get hit. He told me I don’t have to bowl defensively. I have to do wicket-taking bowling. Thankfully, I listened to my captain. He kept telling us that we can defend the (248-run) total.”
The change in intent paid off immediately. Nishan Madushka sliced Tanvir to point; an over later a Bangladesh review overturned an initial not-out call against Mendis. From there, the run-rate plummeted and pressure spread through the Sri Lankan middle order. The hosts never truly recovered, finishing 232 all out in the 49th over.
Tanvir’s new-old action
The 28-year-old revealed he had tinkered with his action during May’s T20Is in the UAE – a move that backfired. Expensive spells cost him his place and he would not have featured in this series had leg-spinner Rishad Hossain not fallen ill on the eve of the first match.
“I was working on my bowling action during the T20I series against Pakistan. I got a lot of negative feedback for it. I was bowling with the same action since 2013. I was speaking to Towhid Hridoy who told me to return to my old action. He said that the old action made me who I am. That’s why I returned to my old action,” he said.
The return to familiar mechanics restored rhythm and, crucially, skid off the surface. Four of his five wickets were leg-befores or bowled – classic left-arm-orthodox dismissals on a slow Premadasa deck.
No shortcuts to the cap
A debut at 28 is late by Bangladeshi standards, yet Tanvir insists the extra miles have built resilience.
“I don’t consider age to be a factor. I always considered performance as the key. I never played age-level cricket. I kicked things off from the Dhaka league. I always believed I could take my career forward through this route. I kept trying and finally Allah has smiled at me. I have a five-wicket haul at the international level,” he said.
Captain’s nod
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, standing in as skipper, highlighted the collective effort but reserved special praise for his match-winner.
“Every time the momentum shifted, it was a turning point for us,” Mehidy said. “Tanvir made regular breakthroughs. He bowled really well. Shamim gave us the advantage with those crucial nine overs. I thought the way he batted and bowled in his return to the team, was just unbelievable. Em”
The grammar may be untidy, the victory anything but. Bangladesh, criticised for soft dismissals in the series opener, again flirted with a batting collapse – sliding from 172 for 3 to 211 for 8 – yet critical 30s from Shamim Hossain and Mehidy nudged them past 240. That target, at least in Tanvir’s mind, always felt enough if he stuck to his strengths.
Series set up
The decider is on Tuesday, same ground, and both camps know momentum is fickle. Sri Lanka will point to ill-timed shot selection and a stop-start middle order; Bangladesh, while buoyed, understand their top order still owes runs. For now, though, Tanvir’s smile says plenty about perseverance, clear thinking and a well-timed return to an action he trusts.
