Sri Lanka sealed a thrilling win over Bangladesh in the series opener of the three-match T20I series played today (4th March) at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and invited the visitors to take the first lease of the wicket.
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Soumya Sarkar, Litton Das(w), Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis(w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka(c), Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Maheesh Theekshana, Akila Dananjaya, Binura Fernando, Matheesha Pathirana
Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando opened the batting for Sri Lanka, but the latter fell to left arm seamer Shoriful Islam for just 4 runs in the first over itself.
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Kamindu Mendis, who got a promotion to bat up the order at No. 3, got off to a fluent start, but gifted his wicket away to the speedster Taskin Ahmaed after scoring 19 runs.
Mendis and Samarawickrama then got together and changed the complexion of the game, adding 96 runs off 61 balls for the third wicket. The Skipper Asalanka then played a blistering cameo to take Sri Lanka over 200.
The hosts’ bowlers were left clueless at the latter part of the innings as Sri Lanka added 64 runs in the last 4 overs to finish the innings in a commanding position at 206/3.
Sri Lanka started brilliantly with the ball, dismissing Bangladesh’s three top order wickets in the powerplay. However, the experienced middle order batter Mahmudullah came out with positive intent to get the hosts back on track with a quick-fire half-century.
Bangladesh No. 6 batter Jaker Ali also supported him playing the second fiddle to his senior partner. Once Mahmudullah was dismissed, Ali took over the mantle to take the game down to the wire.
The Sri Lankan bowlers were struggling to grip the ball properly at the latter part of the innings as they suffered due to dew. Ali managed to take the full advantage of it and smashed every loose ball over the rope.
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With 12 runs needed in the last over of the innings, former Captain Shanaka was handed the responsibility to bowl the last over. Shanaka, using all his experience, managed to hold his nerve and got Sri Lanka over the line, conceding only 8 runs while picking up 2 wickets.
The second T20I of the three-match series between the sides will be played on the 6th of March at the same venue.
Spectators can catch all the action of Sri Lanka Tour of Bangladesh LIVE on ThePapare TV (Dialog TV Ch No. 63), Dialog ViU app and ThePapare.com.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avishka Fernando | c Liton Das b Shaiful Islam | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 200.00 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Mahmudullah b Rishad Hossain | 59 | 36 | 6 | 3 | 163.89 |
| Kamindu Mendis | c Soumya Sarkar b Taskin Ahamed | 19 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 135.71 |
| Sadeera Samarawickrama | not out | 61 | 48 | 8 | 1 | 127.08 |
| Charith Asalanka | not out | 44 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 209.52 |
| Extras | 19 (b 1 , lb 6 , nb 1, w 11, pen 0) |
| Total | 206/3 (20 Overs, RR: 10.3) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaiful Islam | 4 | 0 | 47 | 1 | 11.75 | |
| Taskin Ahamed | 4 | 0 | 40 | 1 | 10.00 | |
| Mahedi Hasan | 3 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 10.00 | |
| Mustafizur Rahman | 4 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 10.50 | |
| Rishad Hossain | 4 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 8.00 | |
| Soumya Sarkar | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liton Das | c b Angelo Mathews | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Soumya Sarkar | c Charith Asalanka b Binura Fernando | 12 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 109.09 |
| Najmul Hossain Shanto | c Angelo Mathews b Matheesha Pathirana | 20 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 90.91 |
| Towhid Hridoy | c & b Angelo Mathews | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 160.00 |
| Mahmudullah | c b Maheesh Theekshana | 54 | 31 | 2 | 4 | 174.19 |
| Jaker Ali | c Charith Asalanka b Dasun Shanaka | 68 | 34 | 4 | 6 | 200.00 |
| Mahedi Hasan | c Angelo Mathews b Binura Fernando | 16 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 145.45 |
| Rishad Hossain | c Charith Asalanka b Dasun Shanaka | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Taskin Ahmed | not out | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Shoriful Islam | not out | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 200.00 |
| Extras | 19 (b 0 , lb 2 , nb 3, w 14, pen 0) |
| Total | 203/8 (20 Overs, RR: 10.15) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angelo Mathews | 3 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 5.67 | |
| Binura Fernando | 4 | 0 | 41 | 2 | 10.25 | |
| Maheesh Theekshana | 4 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 8.00 | |
| Dasun Shanaka | 3 | 0 | 36 | 2 | 12.00 | |
| Akila Dananjaya | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 9.50 | |
| Matheesha Pathirana | 4 | 0 | 56 | 1 | 14.00 | |
 at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Bangladesh.){kind=link}