Bangladesh are finally hitting with aggression. In the first two ODIs Bangladesh finished with 338 and 349. In the third they chased down 102 in 14th over. With the bat they were bold. They challenged 400 in both games, picking up from the T20 Format, where they again showed aggression against England, to whitewash the World Champions.

With the ball too, Bangladesh went a step ahead as they used six specialist bowlers. Normally, with Shakib Al Hasan in the side, five bowlers tend to be enough. Without him too, Bangladesh stick with seven batters and use their part-timers. Now, though, Bangladesh showed aggression with selection too as they picked six bowlers.

The six bowler plan though could be due to certain events falling in place for them. Mehidy Hasan, who had fitness issues in the first two games came back. With his improved batting form Bangladesh found a player who could deal with the pressures of batting higher in the middle order. As a result, Bangladesh were able to promote Mehidy Hasan and strengthen their bowling even more with an additional bowler to go with Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan.

Another aspect which often goes silent is Bangladesh’s pace attack. Over the last year, Taskin Ahmed has grown. He has stepped up as the attack leader with his relentless line and length, and is now managing the bowling attack wonderfully. Supporting him is Ebadot Hossain, who grew in confidence followinng his performance in the New Zealand Tests last year. A new talent emerged though in the third ODI, giving Bangladesh the sixth piece of their bowling puzzle.

Hasan Mahmud, another pacer picked up his maiden five wicket haul in ODIs as he kept Ireland guessing and struggling to match his accuracy. The trio impressed as Bangladesh to picked up all ten wickets with only pacers for the first time in their history. They picked six bowlers but the likes of Mehidy Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan were not required. Shakib in fact, went through his first game without batting or bowling, as his teammates did the job for him.

With the bat, Bangladesh has formed a nice unit around its pillars. With Tamim opening, and Litton Das also proving to be reliable, the top-order is showing some solidity. Below, at number four Shakib Al Hasan remains a constant vital cog for the side. His performance at the position was crucial recently as he was a key influencer in Bangladesh’s win over England in the third ODI.

An issue for Bangladesh though has been with its lower order. Mahmudullah was the one holding them together in the back end of an innings, and now that job has fallen on Mushfiqur Rahim, who is responding really well. Mushfiqur Rahim, along with Shakib Al Hasan is one of the best batters Bangladesh produced. With both of them and the rest of the batting line-up falling in place the side looks a lot more solid.

With the World Cup in the subcontinent, and considering Bangladesh’s record in ODIs, there could be some impressive performances from them later this year. They came close to the top four last time around in England, and now with helpful conditions it will be interesting to see how much they can challenge the top four spots.