From body language to fearlessness, vocal Tigers come of age

The Tigers' first Test match series against Australia in 11 years could have ended better. After pulling off a brilliant show in Dhaka to start the series with a win, the Tigers were expected to make things more interesting. All the pressure was piled up on the visitor when they moved to Chittagong for the second and the final Test of the series. But expectations remained unfulfilled. The Tigers were found wanting for most parts of the Chittagong Test with both bat and ball.

Congratulations to @BCBtigers for their first ever win against Australia in a test match.#HearUsRoar pic.twitter.com/KcaqSPnTsJ

— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) August 30, 2017

Australia are popular for their never-say-die attitude and they showed the superiority over Bangladesh in the longest format winning the game within four days – and that too convincingly – by seven wickets to level the series. But minus the occurrences in Chittagong, one will surely see the brighter side of Bangladesh. The series saw the Tigers pick up their maiden Test win against the giant Aussies. And along the sidelines of the team’s achievements, individual feats shone brightly and at the same time, the world saw unfamiliar characteristics from the Bangladesh cricketers, in terms of body language and their recent new-found ability – to get under the opponent’s skin. The Tigers went into the series vocal, with the ambition of winning it 2-0 if possible and they were right on the spot in the first game.

Great to see Bangladesh win against mighty Australians. Test cricket still is and always will be the ultimate form of the game @BCBtigers— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) August 30, 2017

The home side dominated throughout the first Test in Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. There were occasions when Bangladesh were pushed to the wall but wonderful were the moments when they bounced back to eventually seal a 20-run victory in almost three and half days. The win had rocked the world. At a time when the global authority of cricket is gradually losing its interest towards the longest form and mulling introducing two-tier cricket, the Bangladesh win showed a ray of hope to the believers of Test cricket. The world was upbeat regarding the Bangladesh win as it came within 24 hours of the eight-ranked West Indies winning against the third-ranked England, no doubt a fillip for Test cricket.

What a year it has been for Bangladesh Test cricket: maiden wins over three teams! #RiseOfTheTigers pic.twitter.com/UCA3qCm6gH

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) August 30, 2017

For Bangladesh, the series had started before even the coin was tossed for the first Test. The exclusion of batsman Mominul Haque from his best format had shaken both the media and the cricket fanatics of the country. The national selection panel was showered with criticism, forcing the BCB president Nazmul Hasan to make a stand. Mominul, who still holds the best Test average for Bangladesh with 46 runs per game, was back in the team replacing youngster Mosaddek Hossain, who was suffering from an eye infection. The left-handed batsman however, was given a cold welcome.

Shakib Al Hasan is the Man of the Match. The best Test allrounder in the world! https://t.co/FZBU0B4aWY #BANvAUS pic.twitter.com/9G3KHTgrHX— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) August 30, 2017

A core member of the team was sarcastic and had congratulated Mominul for “buying the media to find his way back in the dressing room”. The incident had offended the majority in the Bangladesh tent but circumstances had made them overlook the incident and go into the first Test, with chins high, as Mominul got benched. With two of the senior men in the team, Shakib al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, playing their 50th Test, the other playing members of the side also had the ambition of making the game special. But as it happened, it was rather the Shakib-Tamim duo that rose to the occasion and provided the lion’s share of the contribution to lead the team to an emphatic win. Tamim with the bat was pivotal in both the Bangladesh innings. In the first, the left-handed batsman scored 71 and put up a 155-run stand with Shakib to take Bangladesh from 10/3 to 165/4 as Bangladesh had only two other batsmen score more than 20.

Shakib Al Hasan in International Cricket:

Runs - 9759 Wickets - 480 No other player has 5000+ runs & 300+ wickets since his debut #BANvAUS— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) August 30, 2017

In the second innings, the home side were in almost a similar situation when Tamim took charge again, only to miss out on a deserving century, having made 78. Tamim was silent in his hometown of Chittagong. The southpaw got to score only nine and 12 in two innings but despite that, he ended as the top-scorer for Bangladesh in the series with 170. It was Shakib though who had earned the tag of the bigger hero in the first Test. The No 1 Test all-rounder had scored an innings-saving 84 in the first innings and another five in the second.

Man of the Match @Sah75official didn't think his side could do it - his wife believed in him though! #BANvAUS pic.twitter.com/1xfEzzWZ0b— ICC (@ICC) August 30, 2017

But it was with the ball that the left-arm spinner had made the most damage as he went on to pick five wickets in each innings to cut Australia’s innings short. Shakib got his second 10-for in Tests. Shakib concluded the series with the most wickets for Bangladesh, 12, including the two in the second Test. In Chittagong, Bangladesh had to deal with top-order collapses yet again as captain Mushfiqur Rahim and middle-order batsman Sabbir Rahman scored 68 and 66 respectively to guide their side to 305. And that was it as far as performance with the bat is concerned.

You could see how good he was 6 years back. Today he IS the world's best all rounder #shakibalhasan #Bangladesh pic.twitter.com/TFcesDO4O1

— Ian Pont (@Ponty100mph) August 30, 2017

With the ball, even the best of Bangladesh had struggled as Australia dominated to bag a seven-wicket victory. But what should be pleasing to the Bangladesh dressing room is left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman getting back into taking wickets. Mustafizur’s five wickets in the game had come at a point when his existence in the team had started raising eyebrows. The sensational Bangladesh bowler has not been charming for over a year now and it was necessary for him to take wickets to please the Bangladesh cricket fraternity. Apart from the performances, what has caught the eye of the general public is Bangladesh’s body language in the field.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. Shakib al Hasan is the best all rounder in the world. By a distance. Consistent match winner. — Peter Miller (@TheCricketGeek) August 30, 2017

Occasions have been ample in the past when the Tigers have been on the receiving end. But this time around, the players were vocal and the words were not coming out from arrogance but the fact that they are now a performing team. Australia are best in this trade, even the best of the teams fail in their exchange with the Aussies. But Bangladesh have now adopted it too. Being fearless and throwing back words looking into the eye, the time has surely changed for the Tigers.

Great win @BCBtigers. Outstanding effort and well planned. Congratulations. Champion performance by @Sah75official

— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) August 30, 2017

A round of applause should be reserved for the BCB and the security agencies for giving confidence to a nation concerned with security of touring Bangladesh. There was a slight hiccup when it was alleged that a small pebble hit the Australia team bus in Chittagong, but by that time, the security in place had already built up enough trust among the tourist, who ended the tour on a happy note.