Tigers play for pride in Riyad’s swansong

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.

Mahmudullah, who began his 17-year-long T20I career against Kenya in Nairobi way back in 2007, had announced he will be quitting the format after the series ahead of the second T20I in Delhi.

His announcement, however, did not spur any inspirational performance from his teammates as the Tigers lost the second T20I by 86 runs and also conceded the series 2-0 after losing the opener by seven wickets in Gwalior.

It was Mahmudullah, as he has done many times in his career, who saved Bangladesh from even more embarrassment in the second game. His 39-ball 41-run knock, even though was not what the match demanded during a chase of a mammoth 222-run target, helped Bangladesh avoid the utter humiliation of getting bundled out.

After the debilitating defeats in the first two matches, chances of a quick turnaround seem very slim, but if the Tigers can pull it off, that would be a grand sendoff for one of their best ever in the format.

The 38-year-old has the most number of T20I appearances (140) for Bangladesh and has also led the side in 43 T20Is, more than anyone else. He is the second highest run-scorer in the format with 2436 runs, 115 runs fewer than Shakib Al Hasan, who also announced his retirement from T20Is in this tour before the Kanpur Test.

"We need to acknowledge that they have forged a path for young cricketers to follow… Bangladesh are fortunate to have players of that calibre to play for that length of time," Bangladesh fielding coach Nic Pothas said of Mahmudullah and Shakib yesterday.

Although Mahmudullah's career strike rate of 117.51 does not look that impressive and his approach in the format has been questioned many times, the all-rounder has undoubtedly done enough to leave a lasting imprint in Bangladesh's T20I history.