Can Tigers end 2016 on a high?

When Bangladesh will play their third ODI against New Zealand today, it will mark the last fixture of an eventful year for the Tigers. Although it will be a dead rubber after their defeats in the first two games, they can still turn the 'opportunity lost' syndrome scenario into something they have never done before. 

The Tigers played more T20Is this year than ODIs or Tests. But the year will be remembered as an opportunity lost despite the fact they played fantastic cricket across all formats of the game. The classic example is their one-run defeat in the World T20 against India at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where they needed two runs from the last three deliveries with Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah at the crease.

Bangladesh had a tremendous home series against England, which was by far their best performance against a top team, especially in the longer version of the game. They won the second Test in dramatic fashion in Dhaka after losing a humdinger of an opening Test in Chittagong. They lost the ODI series 2-1. But the whole series turned out to be a lost opportunity for them because they had given away the control of the game during crucial moments of the series.  Had they not lost the first ODI in Dhaka from an advantageous position and had they not conceded a first-innings lead in the Chittagong Test, they could have won both series.

In New Zealand, which is their first away series after quite some time, they lost the opening game at Christchurch by 77 runs on Monday. But at Nelson they lost a golden opportunity not only to level the series but also to score their first ever win against the Black Caps on their home turf when they restricted them to 251 and then raced to 105 for one on a batting-friendly wicket. But an inexplicable collapse denied the team of something memorable.

The defeat at the Saxton Oval on Thursday was an irritating illustration of their near glory-hunting approach that was also evident in their other near-misses of a year in which they maintained their home dominance. Mushfiqur was emotionally overboard at the Chinnaswamy, so was Mahmudullah in the same game. Shakib Al Hasan's down-the-wicket antics on the third morning of the first Test against England or his unnecessary aggressive intent in the first one-dayer against the same team have already been well documented. The latest instance at the Saxton Oval was a collective brain-freeze, and to an extent another glory-hunting exercise from Shakib.

The progress of the Tigers in the last couple of years revolved round a collective, positive approach under an inspirational leader on the field with a thinking brain off it. It is also a time when the supply line through a strong youth system is far richer.

This is a different brand of Tigers prospering on their home turf, but one that has also got all the ingredients to do well in trying away conditions. Among the 22 players that featured in the second ODI on Thursday, one can safely say that Sabbir Rahman was the most dangerous batsman. He has hardly played in these conditions before, but the way he got on top of the bounce of the ball against the pacers and the way he stepped out against spinners was the hallmark of a top batsman.

Sabbir was spot on when he said that despite the defeat in the first two games they have at least fulfilled the first target in New Zealand -- being competitive. What they need now is to show that competitiveness as a unit and in all aspects of the game. If they can do that on the last day, the year of lost opportunity might have a fulfilling conclusion.