Tanvir Islam stands tall in his second ODI

Tanvir debuted in the first ODI of the series and in just the second ODI, he secured five for 39 runs— now the best bowling record for any Bangladeshi against Sri Lanka, surpassing Abdur Razzak’s 5 for 62 in 2013.

His performance earned him the Player of the Match award and praise from skipper Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

Bangladesh posted 248 in 45.5 overs losing all wickets. They needed to do something special with bowling, and Tanvier delivered that by taking key wickets.

“He (Mehidy) told me, ‘Bowlers get hit. Just bowl to take wickets,’” Tanvir recalled after the match.

Tanvir’s journey has been unconventional. He never played age-level cricket for Bangladesh and began his career in the Dhaka Premier League, the country’s premium 50-over league.

“I always believed performance matters more than age,” he said. “I started late but stayed focused. Alhamdulillah, now I have a Player of the Match in international cricket.”

Captain Mehidy also lauded Shamim Hossain for his control and the key dismissal of Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka. “Shamim executed the plan perfectly on a spin-friendly track,” he said.

Bangladesh’s 248 was built on Parvez Hossain Emon’s 67 and Towhid Hridoy’s 51. A late cameo from Tanzim Hasan Sakib, who smashed 33 off 21 balls, proved crucial.

“Tanzim’s innings changed the momentum,” Mehidy said. “That 20–30 run difference made a huge impact.”

Sri Lanka threatened through Janith Liyanage’s 78, but Mustafizur Rahman’s dismissal of the set batter in the 48th over tilted the match.

“We all know how tough Mustafiz is,” Liyanage said after the match. “He deserves credit.”

For Tanvir, it was also a personal comeback. He had briefly changed his bowling action during the Pakistan series but reverted after encouragement from teammate Towhid Hridoy.

“He told me, ‘You became Tanvir with that action. Trust it,’” Tanvir said.