A timely boost

         

  Apart from the results, it has been remarkable how certain areas that went unnoticed even during successes at home have surfaced here and become contributing factors to the team's impressive performance. Two batsmen born in different decades have taken key positions in the line-up and provided a glimpse of what the future holds, and what processes to avoid. Ashraful should have adopted a tighter approach years back. Nasir, on the other hand, has done himself no harm by not complicating matters. His pre-batting routines, attitude towards certain situations in long and short-form cricket, should be lapped up by younger players. Mushfiqur's management skills and personality were both put to the test over the 32 days in Sri Lanka. He has dispelled notions of any fragility and has show that even without scoring runs he can be the driving force in the team. It represents a big change from what Mushfiqur was perceived as when he took over as captain. His deputy Mahmudullah and head coach Shane Jurgensen, too, helped himThe first among them has been how the leadership injected belief into a team that was without its best all-round cricketer for the entire tour, and partly without its best batsman and senior-most bowler. Imagine Sri Lanka without Kumar Sangakkara for the whole series, and Rangana Herath for parts of it, and it will give you a fair idea of the personnel missing for the Bangladesh side.Ashraful reshaped his batting on his own, as much as Nasir has grown more confident each time he steps out to bat. Mahmudullah didn't have a great series, personally, but he has had an influence over how the team has fared. The lack of runs didn't force him into a shell, as his bowling has shown. He has been the quietest player in the team so far as media interactions go, but, in Galle and Colombo, one could hear him shout the loudest from the dressing room balcony whenever a bit of cheering was required. Jurgensen has worked quietly behind the scenes, leading the support staff and keeping the younger players honest to the cause. He has been hands-on, and has given the players enough space to think for themselves.