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Across the first two games of the ongoing T20I series, in which Bangladesh already have been bested by India after losing the second match in New Delhi on Wednesday, the visitors were in control for a span of just six overs. 

That is when they took three wickets of India inside the powerplay in Delhi after putting them into bat. But a century-stand from newcomer Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rinku Singh took the game away. 

Then a similar suit of batting failure followed, which resulted to an 86-run loss, their third heaviest in terms of runs. Bangladesh’s batting was in stark contrast to India’s in both matches. 

There has always been a big question mark behind Bangladesh’s T20 batting, and that only got bigger after these two matches.

The Tigers couldn’t even cross the 140-mark in any of these matches, whereas India posted 353 runs from just 31.5 overs. 

India scored at a rate of 11.09 runs per over, and that showed that the bowlers also failed to make a mark.

On Wednesday, spinners were hammered by India’s explosive batting as they cost 116 runs from just eight overs. 

There was no denying that both the wickets were pretty good for batting. But the bowlers must find a way to stay in the game by adapting to the conditions quickly; that is the demand of the T20s. That too can be said for the batters too. 

Bangladesh couldn’t do that in either of the departments. 

Taskin Ahmed, who took 2-16 from four in the second T20I, said that they failed to adapt to the condition.

‘The average score in Delhi is more than 200 runs. Both [the wickets in Gwalior and Delhi] were good to bat, but we didn’t bat well,’ Taskin told reporters after the defeat.

‘We didn’t play to our potential. We didn’t have a good game. We had to go hard at their big total. There’s not much to do in a T20 when the top five or six batters fail.’

World champion India are playing the series with a new team. Even the captain, Surya Kumar Yadav, said that he was experimenting with the bowlers to see how they do in different circumstances. 

Bangladesh have far more experience in terms of international T20s, but the gulf in the quality between the two teams was evident. Taskin feels that they need better wickets to improve their T20 games. 

‘We have to improve our skills, but we also need to play on better wickets back home,’ he said.

Taskin also said that they communicated with the board in this regard.

‘We have informed the board, so I am sure they are thinking about [better pitches]. They gave us hope that they would make things better. It is up to them how they will improve conditions back home,’ said the pacer.

But the experienced player also sees their shortcomings too.

‘We haven’t improved in T20s unfortunately. It is our failure. Regardless of wickets back home, we are not doing well in better conditions. We are trying hard to improve, and we are hoping we can improve. That’s all we can do.’

This series against India came as an opportunity for a fresh start in T20Is for Bangladesh in a new World Cup cycle.

But the first two matches showed that they are in an endless loop where the T20 format remains a mystery for them. 

When an unstoppable force like India with all the IPL experience meets a team like Bangladesh, they become a more timid object. And the results are not too unfamiliar.