Tanzid delights in drab day for Tigers
Bangladesh carried on with their underwhelming showing with the bat in the ongoing ODI World Cup on Thursday, posting a modest 256-8 against India in Pune, in an innings that hardly merits an in-depth dissection.
After a stellar opening stand, the innings followed what has been Bangladesh's trend in this World Cup since winning their opener against Afghanistan - losing wickets in regular successions, not stringing more than one meaningful partnership per innings and in the end settling for a below par total.
But amidst all the mediocrity, young Bangladeshi opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim stood out with some refreshing aggression at the top of the order.
After failing to get going in the first three games of the tournament, the junior Tamim finally showed a glimpse of his immense ability, smashing his maiden half-century in ODIs against India at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
There were no doubts about the 22-year-old's immense talent, which he has showcased at the Under-19 level for Bangladesh.
Tanzid has made 1018 runs in Youth ODIs, which is not that impressive considering 29 other players have more runs than him at that level.
However, Tanzid has scored those runs at a strike rate of 102.82, which is the second best among all batters who have made at least 1000 runs in Youth ODIs, second only to India's Shubman Gill.
Tanzid's attacking mindset at the top of the order is what makes him an exciting prospect for Bangladesh in limited-overs cricket.
Despite poor returns, the management persisted with the left hander for this ability. And on Thursday, he finally lived up to his reputation.
Followed by a cautious start, Tanzid's innings went to the next gear when he pulled Jasprit Bumrah over the deep square leg region with great authority for the first six of the innings.
After that shot, there was no looking back for Tanzid. He in particular launched on to Shardul Thakur, striking him for two sixes and a four in the 10th over.
Tanzid's charge down the ground against fast bowlers reminded every Bangladeshi fan of a certain young swashbuckling opener who did the same against India at the Port of Spain during the 2007 World Cup.
The sixes an 18-year-old Tamim Iqbal hit against pacer Zaheer Khan in that game remains an iconic moment in Bangladesh's cricket history.
Fast forward to 16 years, another opener named Tamim was dealing the same sort of punishment to Indian pacers.
The similarities between the innings of the two namesakes didn't end there as like the senior Tamim, Tanzid also finished on 51 runs. The only difference being, he took 10 balls less than his senior.
But the major difference between the two innings is that while Tamim's knock in 2007 led to Bangladesh's first and only win over India in World Cups, young Tamim's fifty eventually ended in a losing cause.