Encouraging words from the captain and reverting to his original bowling action helped Tanvir Islam take the five-for against Sri Lanka in the second ODI in Colombo. Tanvir's 5 for 39, in only his second ODI, proved decisive as Bangladesh roared back into the series with the 16-run win.
It also helped break Bangladesh's eight-match losing streak in the format, dating back to eight months. They had faulted on many junctures of this match, even repeating a bit of their batting collapse from the first game, but one or two players got them out of the jam. Tanvir made the biggest contribution with his five wickets, although he started off poorly in the powerplay. Kusal Mendis had struck him for two fours and a six in a 17-run over that nearly derailed Bangladesh.
"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."
Taking inspiration from his captain's words, Tanvir bowled more into the stumps in his third over. He removed Nishan Madushka in his next over, caught at point trying to slam him over the covers, before the left-arm spinner removed Kusal in the following over. Bangladesh need the DRS to get the lbw decision in their favour, a telling moment in the game given how Sri Lanka slowed down for the following 30-odd overs.
Tanvir said that he tried a new bowling action against the UAE during the T20I series in May, but it wasn't a successful move. He was dropped after two outings, both times he was quite expensive. He didn't play against Pakistan, and was almost a non-starter in this ODI series before legspinner Rishad Hossain fell sick on the eve of the first ODI on July 2. Tanvir said that he returned to his original action after speaking to teammate Towhid Hridoy.
"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.
Tanvir also said that he had to wait a long time for a Bangladesh selection. He made his debut at the age of 28, which is well advanced, to say it nicely, in Bangladesh's context. "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.
Tanvir also earned his captain's praise as Mehidy Hasan Miraz said that Tanvir was one of four players who turned things around for Bangladesh.
"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. Emon also contributed with quick runs at the top.
"I also want to give credit to Tanzim's batting towards the end. The way he attacked Hasaranga, those were important runs that made the difference for us. 220 and 250 are two different scenarios."
He however remained guarded about Bangladesh's overall performance in the game. Mehidy said that they couldn't bat the 50 overs in both ODIs so far, which also had two run-outs that hurt Bangladesh at crucial stages. Bangladesh also dropped four catches in this game, which could have been costly.
"We can now focus on which areas to improve, before the third match," Mehidy said. "We haven't been able to bat fifty overs in the first two ODIs. There were couple of run-outs, which definitely shifted the momentum from us. We also lost a cluster of wickets in the last few ten overs. I hope everyone is looking for improvement."