The third T20I between Bangladesh and India on Saturday in Hyderabad was a dead rubber, with the hosts already up by 2-0 in the series. From a Bangladeshi perspective, the main point of interest in the match was whether the Tigers could put on an improved showing, especially on the batting front.

It rained in Hyderabad yesterday afternoon, a day before the third and final T20I between Bangladesh and India, but soon it ebbed away giving way to sunshine, although not for very long.

Mahmudullah Riyad, the last of Bangladesh’s long-serving five pillars still active in T20Is, will bid adieu to the format today as Bangladesh look to restore some pride against India in the third and final T20I at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

Low strike rates and an inability to clear the ropes more frequently have long been Bangladesh’s stumbling blocks in the shortest format.

Bangladesh will take on India in the second T20I in Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium today in a must-win match which is set to be the penultimate outing in the format for veteran Mahmudullah Riyad, who announced he will be retiring from the format at the end of the three-match series.

"We just tried to back our skills and what we decided in the team meeting, we just walked the talk," said Suryakumar.

When Shanto was asked in the press conference whether the brand of cricket Bangladesh play is not good enough, he said: “I won’t say it is bad, but I think we are a better team than this. We have not been doing well in this format for a while but I don’t believe we are this bad.”

The streets of the Shankargarh village area were packed with incoming traffic at 5:00 PM, some two hours before the first T20I between India and Bangladesh yesterday. There was tight security but that hardly dampened the fans’ excitement for the game in Gwalior, where international cricket had returned after 14 years.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto rued poor planning and not putting enough runs on the board after getting drubbed by India by seven wickets in the first T20I of the three-match series at the Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior yesterday.

Bangladesh are going into the T20I series against India with promise of more aggression and intent to win. But when going against international teams of the highest-order, Bangladesh’s T20 merits fall short of the standard.

Bangladesh are set to play the first T20I in Gwalior against hosts India and there is expectation of quality cricket from the fans. The Tigers are however without Shakib Al Hasan, who recently in a bombshell press conference in Kanpur revealed that he had already played his last T20I match during the last T20 World Cup.

Towhid Hridoy flicked a ball that went the distance while batting against a net bowler yesterday in Gwalior’s Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium. While the youngster almost casually cleared the boundary, the veteran Mahmudullah Riyad had to take his time to get his bat speed going once he came to bat in the nets.

“It’s blown with the wind, so Sachin’s name isn’t there. We had left it like it was in the game,” said scorer Sunil Gupta while looking at the dilapidated scoreboard at the Roop Singh Stadium in Gwalior.

In the format, the Tigers last faced India during the T20 World Cup in June, losing by 50 runs, and have not played a match since the tournament. The two sides have faced off in 14 contests, with India winning 13 times.