When Bangladesh captain Litton Das first glanced at their Sri Lanka tour schedule, he had already penciled in Mahedi Hasan for the third T20I at the R. Premadasa Stadium. On Wednesday night, that faith paid off in style. Mahedi delivered a career-best performance, taking 4 wickets for just 11 runs, helping Bangladesh seal a commanding eight-wicket win and with it, their first-ever T20I series victory against Sri Lanka, clinching it 2-1.
Two of Mahedi’s wickets came early during the powerplay, taking his tally to 30 wickets in that phase since January 2021 more than any other spinner in that period. Litton explained that the pitch in Colombo suited Mahedi’s style perfectly, and his decision to play him was based on that.
“We believed Mahedi’s skills were ideal for this surface,” Litton said after the match. “It’s not that he can’t perform elsewhere but I had it in mind from the start of the tour that this game would be his. That doesn’t mean Mehidy [Hasan Miraz] isn’t a great bowler or batter but as captain, I have to read the conditions and choose accordingly. If the pitch favors bowlers, Mahedi is my pick. If it’s more suited for batting, Miraz comes back in.”
This game was particularly meaningful for Mahedi, who was returning after being left out of Bangladesh’s last five T20Is. His exclusion followed some expensive spells against the UAE and Pakistan earlier this year. It felt especially tough given his standout performances in December in the West Indies, where he was named Player of the Series after leading Bangladesh to a 3-0 sweep.
Litton never lost confidence in his team or in Mahedi. That belief was instrumental in turning the series around after they dropped the opening game, marking only the second time Bangladesh has come back from 1-0 down to win a T20I series.
“As captain, this is a proud moment for me,” Litton said. “It’s also great to see the fans happy, especially after we’ve managed to win a T20 series here in Sri Lanka. We always try to give 100% — that’s how we train, and that’s how we play. Belief has always been there. I’ve never lacked that belief in all my ten years playing at this level.”
Looking at the broader tour, Litton admitted there were some concerning batting collapses 94 all out in the second T20I, 186 and 167 in the ODIs but he insisted the overall performance wasn’t bad.
“We didn’t play poorly across all formats,” he said. “But yes, we had some serious batting collapses. In the second Test, for example, everyone got to 30–35 runs but no one pushed on, even though the pitch was good. The same thing happened in the ODIs — we lost too many wickets too quickly. As a batting group, we have to take more responsibility and be smarter with our shot selection.”
Litton himself began to find form again in the second T20I, hitting a commanding 76 off 50 balls and forging crucial partnerships with Towhid Hridoy and Shamim Hossain. It was a welcome return to form after a lean run in white-ball cricket. He followed that with a handy 32 in the third game, steadying the innings after an early wobble.
“I think hunger played a big part,” he admitted. “I hadn’t been scoring runs, and I was just waiting for that one chance to turn things around. That second game was it. When you win, everything changes. That 83-run victory gave us all a boost we knew if we played our best cricket, we could win.”
“I don’t just sit around in the hotel. I never skip a training session. I try hard, whether things are going well or not. And yes, sometimes you just need a bit of luck too. I think luck was with me in that second T20I. But more than anything, I kept working. A few people supported me, and that kept me going.”
