Sri Lanka sink Bangladesh in high-scoring thriller to qualify for Super 4s
DUBAI: Sri Lanka goalkeeper batsman Kusal Mendis led the way with a magnificent half-century while captain Dasun Shanaka scored an important 45 to propel his team to beat Bangladesh by two wickets and qualify for the Super Fours of Asia Cup 2022.
Ready to chase down a gargantuan 184, Sri Lanka headed to victory in the final with two wickets to spare, thanks to a fifty from Mendis and an anchor strike from their captain Shanaka.
Sri Lankan starters Mendis and Pathum Nissanka provided a solid start to the race chase as they began racking up runs at a brisk pace.
However, Nissanka, struggling to get going, fell victim to debutant Ebadot Hossain in the sixth over after going 20-for-19.
Charith Asalanka’s stay in the crease was brief, as she also left for a puny score of one in the same over while trying to hit the ball.
The hosts then lost two more wickets in quick succession and were soon down to 77/4 in the ninth.
After the fall, Mendis and Shanaka penned an astonishing comeback as the pair put together an important 54-run partnership for the fifth wicket and made sure to score according to the increasing run rate required before Mendis died in the fifteenth.
The right-handed hitter was the team’s leading scorer with a brilliant 60 on 37 pitches aided by four bounds and three sixes.
Shanaka, on the other hand, stood her ground and anchored the run chase with a gutsy 45 shot from just 33 balls aided by three bounds and two sixes.
The high-scoring thriller took a sharp turn in the 18th when Shanaka went down to Mahedi Hasan while trying to get the ball over the long fence.
Sri Lanka’s batting tail: Chamika Karunaratne and Asitha Fernando, however, negated Bangladesh’s spin and comeback in the game, as the two batsmen batted sensibly to death and cruised to victory just out of Bangladesh’s reach.
Karunaratne scored an important 16 in just 10 deliveries before being eliminated in the 19th, while Fernando went undefeated with his 10 and led Sri Lanka to the line and to the Super Fours.
For Sri Lanka, Ebadot led the way with three wickets while Taskin Ahmed claimed two. Mustafizur Rahman and Mahedi, on the other hand, struck out one batter each.
Sri Lanka, after winning the toss, invited Bangladesh to bat first. However, the decision did not seem to go in the hosts’ favour, as their opponents racked up a massive 183/7 in the allotted 20 overs.
Batting first, Bangladesh got off to a dismal start as they lost their first wicket in the third with a combined score of just 19 with Sabbir Rahman walking back to the pavilion in disgust after managing to score just five.
Leading batsman Mehidy Hasan Miraz and captain Shakib Al Hasan then anchored the inning with an important partnership of 39 runs for the second wicket.
The association was mainly dominated by the starter, who scored at a rapid rate for his 38. He faced 28 deliveries and broke four limits, including two sixes, to give his team a solid start.
Shakib, on the other hand, held his ground with an anchor strike while goalkeeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim went down cheap by just four in the next over and Bangladesh, as a result, dropped to 63/3 in eight overs.
After the fall, middle-order batsman Afif Hossain took on the Sri Lankan bowlers and sped up proceedings with his blistering strike and was unaffected by the dismissal of Shakib in the 11th, who scored 24 of 22 deliveries.
At a snail’s pace.
Afif, however, was the top scorer for Bangladesh with a quick 39 from just 27 balls aided by four bounds and two sixes.
A late attack by the multi-talented Mosaddek Hossain then bolstered Bangladesh to break the 180-run mark as the team went 183/7 from 20 overs.
He scored a quick 24 on just nine balls, including four bounds.
For Sri Lanka, Chamika Karunaratne and Wanindu Hasaranga each bagged two wickets, while Asitha Fernando, Maheesh Theekshana and Dilshan Madushanka each struck out one batter.
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