In the series, the pacers excelled in the first two phases of the innings – the first and second Powerplays - and this success shielded them from getting tested in the most happening phase of play, aka the death overs.

His batting exploits, which first came into focus in the preceding Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka, where he smashed 53 off 30 balls in the third match, has gone largely unnoticed in the domestic circuit, simply because he hardly ever breaks into the playing eleven.

Bangladesh went into this white-ball home series against Sri Lanka with an agenda of improving their all-round performance, especially considering the sub-par campaign the Tigers endured in the ODI World Cup in 2023.

Janith Liyanage hit a stellar century that took a struggling Sri Lanka to 235 in their 50 overs in the series-deciding third ODI at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram

Yesterday’s duck was Liton’s 14th in ODIs and seventh since January 2023. In fact, no other batter among Test-playing nations has been dismissed for naught in ODIs more than Liton since last year.

After middle-order did not have much to contribute, Hridoy took it upon himself to carry the innings, building a 47-run stand with number eight Tanzim Hasan Sakib and then a 23-ball 50-run unbeaten stand with Taskin Ahmed, who struck 18 off 10 as Bangladesh managed 286 for 7.

“Win or lose, the most important thing is whether we are playing as a team or not,” Shanto told the media in Chattogram today.

The ODIs will take place at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on March 13, 15 and 18 respectively.