Tigers start brightly in defining year

The Chinese Year of the Tiger doesn't come around again until 2022, but this year looms as a watershed 12 months for the Tigers of Bangladesh, their national cricket team.

Fresh from their first-ever World Cup quarter-final appearance last month, Bangladesh completed a 3-0 ODI series whitewash against Pakistan last week, their first ever against an Asian Test-playing nation.

They followed it up with a comfortable seven-wicket victory in a standalone T20 international on Friday, securing the win with more than three overs to spare.

Quick Single: Bangladesh cruise to seven-wicket win

With a two-Test series starting this week, ahead of home Tests against South Africa, India and Australia later in the year, the Tigers have made a promising start to arguably their biggest year in international cricket since they qualified for the 1999 World Cup.

"We (normally) don't get much of a chance to play so many Test matches in a year," star allrounder Shakib Al Hasan told cricket.com.au earlier this year.

"We hardly play three or four Tests normally which is not ideal to improve your Test cricket, but hopefully this year gives us a very good opportunity.

"I think at the moment we’re a very good team, but against these guys it won’t be easy, but hopefully we will be up for the challenge and we do well.

"At home we are a confident team now – we can do well against any of the big sides."

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Soumya Sarkar celebrates his 100 in the ODI series // Getty

Having not won a match against Pakistan in any form of the game for 15 years, Bangladesh beat them four times in just over a week between April 17 and April 24.

And they didn't just beat Pakistan; they thrashed them.

In the opening ODI, the Tigers plundered 329 on the back of centuries to Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim and bowled Pakistan out in the 46th over to record a comfortable 79-run victory.

It was followed by two breezy run chases in the second and third games; another century to Tamim secured a seven-wicket victory with 71 balls to spare in game two before Soumya Sarkar scored his maiden ODI hundred to guide them home in game three with eight wickets and 61 balls in hand.

Quick Single: Bangladesh secure series whitewash

It was a similar story on Friday, when Pakistan were restricted to 5-141 from their 20 overs before unbeaten half-centuries from Shakib and Sabbir Rahman guided Bangladesh home with 21 balls to spare.

One of the most impressive aspects of their victories has been how the load was shared evenly across the squad.

Three batsmen scored more than 150 runs in the ODI series while No.4 batsman Mahmadullah, the backbone of their World Cup success, could only manage scores of 5, 17 and 4.

The bowling workload was shared evenly as well, with no bowler taking more than six of the 26 Pakistan wickets to fall across the three games.

The outcry in Pakistan over the one-sided result, led by World Cup winning captain turned politician Imran Khan, has somewhat overshadowed the brilliant performance of Bangladesh's players.

Quick Single:Imran laments structure, blasts PCB

"It is the best achievement in our history," Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza said.

"It was a perfect series for us in which everything went in the right direction. Everybody played their role perfectly.

"Now it’s the time to show our credentials in T20s and Tests."

Having got the better of England during the World Cup, pushed eventual finalists New Zealand all the way during the pool stages, and thumped Pakistan, the Tigers now face the far more difficult prospect of translating that form into the Test arena against the best teams in the world.

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Star allrounder Shakib will be crucial in the Test series // Getty

Quick Single:Rahat ruled out of Test series

Bangladesh have won just seven of 88 Tests since their debut 15 years ago, five of their wins coming against Zimbabwe and two against West Indies.

But given all seven of their Tests this year will be played on home soil - four of which are against South Africa and Australia, teams unfamiliar with sub-continental conditions - Bangladesh are hopeful they won't be the easy beats they have been for the majority of their time in Test cricket.

"If the Bangladesh players stand up and do well against Australian bowlers I think it will be a very good contest," Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha said last year.

"The bowlers will cause trouble to the Australian batsmen in these conditions, it's all about the way the batsmen go."

While Bangladesh's exact schedule for the rest of the year is yet to be confirmed, they are set to host India in June before a series of matches against South Africa in July and August.

They will then meet the Aussies for a two-Test series in October, which comes almost immediately after Australia's three-month tour of the UK for the Ashes and a series of limited overs matches.

The first Test against Pakistan begins in Khulna on Tuesday.