Bangladesh offspinner Mahedi Hasan made a stunning comeback to the national side by delivering a match-winning performance in the third T20I at R Premadasa Stadium. Skipper Litton Das had long planned for Mahedi’s inclusion in this Colombo clash, and the decision paid off handsomely as Mahedi picked up a career-best 4 for 11, helping Bangladesh seal a comfortable eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka and clinch the series 2-1 — their first T20I series victory on Lankan soil.
Litton’s Faith in Mahedi Pays Off
Mahedi’s performance was not just timely but tactical. He dismissed Kusal Perera in his first over and later sent Dinesh Chandimal back during the powerplay. These efforts brought his powerplay wicket count to 30 since January 2021 — the highest for any spinner in that period.
Litton revealed that Mahedi was always his top pick for the Colombo surface:
“𝑾𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑴𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒅𝒊’𝒔 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕,” 𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑴𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒅𝒊 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆-𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒖𝒆.”
Despite missing the first two T20Is and the previous five T20 matches, Mahedi’s return was a statement. His absence had followed some expensive outings against the UAE and Pakistan in May. However, it’s important to note he had previously starred as Player of the Series in the West Indies, guiding Bangladesh to a 3-0 clean sweep.
A Memorable Series for Litton and the Tigers
Litton Das described the series victory as a proud moment in his captaincy journey. It marked only the second instance where Bangladesh won a T20I series after losing the opening match of a three-game series.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝑻20𝑰 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝒓𝒊 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒂,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅.
Despite some batting collapses during the tour — notably 94 all out in the second T20I, 186 in the third ODI, and 167 in the first ODI — Litton believed the overall performance wasn’t poor. He emphasized the need for consistency and better shot selection from the batting unit moving forward.
Litton Finds Form with the Bat
The skipper also contributed significantly with the bat, scoring 76 off 50 balls in the second T20I — breaking his white-ball dry spell. He followed it up with a handy 32 in the final game. His partnerships with Towhid Hridoy and Shamim Hossain proved crucial.
Speaking on his return to form, Litton shared:
“𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒃.”
He added that winning boosts team morale:
“𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎. 𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒚 83 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.”
The Bangladesh skipper concluded by highlighting his relentless efforts off the field, noting that he doesn’t skip training and always remains committed — hoping that a bit of luck and perseverance would eventually lead to results.
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