Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh in 1st T20

Sports Desk: Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by six wickets, chasing the hosts' highest ever total of 193 in T20I.

Sri Lanka reached their target of 194 in 16.4 overs, leading the two-match T20I series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Thursday.

Kusal Mendis hit a brilliant fifty to help the side lead in the series. He bagged 53 runs off 27 balls with eight fours and two sixes.

Danushka Gunathilaka scored 30 runs off 15 balls which includes six fours in his innings.

Upul Tharanga bagged four runs off seven balls while Niroshan Dickwella (wk) scored 11 runs from 9 balls.

The unbeaten pair Dasun Shanaka and Thisara Perera 42 off 24 balls and 39 off 18 balls respectively. Shanaka hit three fours and three sixes and Perera four fours and three sixes.

Nazmul Islam bagged two wickets while Rubel Hossain and Afif Hossain shared a wicket.

Earlier, youthful Bangladesh team scored their ever-highest in T20I cricket making 193 for 5 in 20 overs, featuring two half centuries by Mushfiqur Rahim (66) and Soumya Sarkar (51).

The previous highest score of Bangladesh was 190 for 5 against Ireland in Belfast on July 18 in 2012. 

After the dismissal three top order batsmen for 100 runs in 10.3 overs, Tigers Captain Mahmudullah pairing with former Test Captain Mushfiqur Rahim guided the team toward a challenging total contributing 73 runs in the 4th wicket stand.

Mushfiqur Rahim hammered an unconquered 66 runs off just 44 balls featuring seven fours and one six while Mahmudullah scored a polished 43 runs in 31-ball with two four and two sixes, before he was caught by Akila  Dananjaya off a Isuru Udana delivery, leaving the team total 173 for 4 in 18.2 overs.

Sabbir Rahman scored two-ball one run before he was bowled by Thisara Perera while debutant Ariful Haque remained not out on one run.

Tigers made a flying start scoring 100 for 1 in 10 overs losing the wicket of debutant opener Zakir Hasan for 49 runs in four overs. But they lost two quick wickets of national opener Soumya Sarker and debutant all-rounder Afif Hossain in span of only two balls without adding any run.

Lankan leg break bowler Jeevan Mendis made the major damage in Bangladesh innings grabbing the wicket of set batsman Soumya Sarkar in the first ball of eleven over and he again dismissed Afif Hossain in the 3rd ball of the same over to restrict Bangladesh to 100 for 3 from 100 for 1.

Opener Soumya Sarkar fell victim of lbw scoring 51 runs off 32 balls featuring six fours and two sixes leaving team total 100/2 in 10.1 overs while Afif Hossain went back to the pavilion with duck playing two balls with scorecard showing 100 for 3 in 10.3 overs.

But, Left arm off break bowler Danushka Gunathilaka made the first breakthrough in Bangladesh innings bowling out debutant Zakir Hasan for 49 runs in in four overs. Zakir scored 10 runs off nine balls with a boundary.

Mendis grabbed two wickets for 21 runs while Gunathilaka, Perera and Udana took one wicket each conceding 16, 36 and 45 runs respectively.

Earlier Bangladesh stand-in captain Mahmudullah opted to bat first after winning the toss against the Islanders recruiting four debutants cricketers — all rounders Ariful Haque and Afif Hossain, batsman cum wicket keeper Zakir Hasan and left arm spinner Nazmul Islam.

Former Test captain cum wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim, who was suffering from light injury, was included in the day’s squad while injury grabbed reliable opening batsman Tamim Iqbal excluded from the day’s final line-up in absence of regular captain Sakib Al Hasan.

Dadushanka makes his T20I debut for Sri Lanka in the day’s match.

Bangladesh Squad: Zakir Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Afif Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah (Captain), Mohammad Saifuddin, Ariful Haque, Nazmul Islam Apu, Mustafizur Rahman and Rubel Hossain

Sri Lankan team: Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Kusal Mendis, Jeevan Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka, Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Akila Dananjaya, S Maudhshanka  and Isuru Udana
 

risingbd/Dhaka/February 15, 2018/A K Azad