Can Bangladesh avoid another whitewash and salvage some pride?

After being whitewashed in the Test series, there were hopes for Bangladesh to bounce back in the T20 series.

However, Nazmul Hossain Shanto's team struggled to survive against India's formidable challenge in the first two T20s. The final T20 has now turned into another mission for Bangladesh to avoid a whitewash.

At Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, India will do everything to prevent Bangladesh from succeeding in this mission. Moreover, Surya Kumar Yadav's team is significantly stronger on paper than Bangladesh. However, despite the looming threat of a whitewash following the series loss, there is another factor that could serve as extra motivation for Bangladesh in this match.

Mahmudullah Riyad is set to retire from international T20 cricket after this match. If the right-handed batsman can bid farewell with a victory, Bangladesh might return from a challenging series against India with something to show for it. Nonetheless, given the performance in the first two matches, it's hard for Bangladeshi fans to feel optimistic. Particularly concerning is how Shanto and his team surrendered helplessly in both matches.

Bangladesh had no answers to either India's outstanding bowling or explosive batting. After losing the first match, captain Shanto candidly admitted that while the players have the potential for consistent performance, there is a gap in their skills. He expressed uncertainty on how to improve this skill gap: "We have the capability. I firmly believe we have the ability. However, there is a lot of room for skill improvement. But how will this improvement happen? If I look back over the last ten years, we have been batting like this. Sometimes we may bat well."

While Shanto commented on his team's batting, Bangladesh's bowlers seem to lack the knowledge to stop India's aggressive batting. In the first T20, India chased down the target of 128 runs in less than 12 overs. In the second match, batting first, the hosts scored 221 runs. On one day, captain Surya Kumar and Hardik Pandya take the lead, while on another day, newcomers like Nitish Kumar Reddy or relatively young players like Rinku Singh showcase their capabilities.

Meanwhile, even experienced Bangladeshi players have been underperforming match after match. Litton Das, who scored a brilliant century in the series against Pakistan, has been nowhere to be found in the India series. This right-handed batsman had claimed he would take on responsibility, but there has been no sign of such responsibility from him. Captain Shanto has struggled to recall the last time he played a good innings in white-ball cricket.

Overall, avoiding a whitewash against India will be extremely difficult for Bangladesh. After their historic Test series win against Pakistan, many had seen this as a greater opportunity for Bangladesh against India than before. However, the gap between theory and practice became apparent as the red-and-green team took the field against the world champions. Now, it remains to be seen whether Bangladesh can create positive memories before the upcoming Test series at home against South Africa.