Tigers bowlers no match for feisty Lankans

A bite-less and out of place bowling effort by Bangladesh saw visitor Sri Lanka take a 1-0 lead in the two-match T20I series. The Lankans chased down 194 runs with 20 balls remaining to secure a six-wicket victory at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka Thursday. The Mirpur deck on the day was glorious for batting and after the dreadful pitches in the tri-nation ODI series and the two-match Test series, it had pleased many as runs were scored easily. Bangladesh going in to bat first had made the best use out of it by putting up their highest total in the format. With 193 on the board for the loss of five wickets, the Tigers surpassed their previous highest total of 190, scored against Ireland in Belfast in 2012. The start was the key to the big total. Bangladesh missed their regular opener Tamim Iqbal due to injury but the other opener Soumya Sarkar, alongside debutant Zakir Hasan, did a good job adding 49 in the first four overs. The partnership got broken when Zakir was dismissed for 10 in the last ball of the fourth over but Soumya maintained his aggression. The left-handed batsman had returned to the national fold after missing the tri-series and the Test series and was spot on making his mark with a 32-ball 51, his maiden half-century in the format, featuring half a dozen boundaries and two over boundaries. The innings should make his path easy for the tri-series in Sri Lanka next month. Before getting dismissed against spinner Jeevan Mendis, Soumya had already added 51 for the second wicket with wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim. The main push to the innings was initiated by Mushfiq and Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah. The duo posted 73 for the fourth wicket to push Bangladesh to their biggest T20I total. Mushfiq was clinical as he remained unbeaten on 66 off 44 deliveries with seven fours and a sixer. The wicketkeeper-batsman recorded his second half-century in the format and his first since 2013. Mahmudullah posted a 31-ball 43.

Bangladesh lost the first T20I against Sri Lanka by 6 wickets.#BANvSL pic.twitter.com/BSghyK15XQ

— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) February 15, 2018

A poor show and zero intent to fight back however, squandered Bangladesh’s opportunity to secure their third win in the format against Sri Lanka. Among the six Bangladesh bowlers, it was only debutant Nazmul Islam Apu whose economy rate was below 10. Left-arm spinner Apu in his four overs conceded only 25 runs and picked up two wickets. The 26-year old first removed opener Danushka Gunathilaka for 30 to bag his maiden international wicket for Bangladesh. And in his last over of the game, Apu dismissed No 3 batsman Upul Tharanga for four to leave Sri Lanka reeling on 92 for the loss of three wickets. All the three Bangladesh pacers in the shape of Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman and Saifuddin had gone for more than 30 runs in the game. Rubel however, ended as the fifth bowler to concede the most runs in a game for Bangladesh as the right-arm pacer gave away 52 runs in 3.4 overs for a wicket. Sri Lanka opener Kusal Mendis was the aggressor for the island nation as the right-handed batsman contributed a blazing 27-ball 53. Kusal, who was not in the initial Sri Lanka squad, hammered eight boundaries and two sixers to make the job easy for Sri Lanka. The Lankans in the process surpassed their previous highest successful chase of 176 in the shortest format. Kusal’s effort was well complemented by Dasun Shanaka who was unbeaten on 42 off 24 and all-rounder Thisara Perera, who was not out on 39.

50! @mushfiqur15 brings up his second T20I half-century in 37 balls.#BANvSLWatch Live Streaming at https://t.co/rlvwX9LzlX: https://t.co/hlDzuNcqsG pic.twitter.com/OlMPhuEUtl

— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) February 15, 2018

BRIEF SCORESri Lanka 194/4 in 16.4 overs (Mendis 53, Shanaka 42*) beat Bangladesh 193/5 (Mushfiq 66*, Soumya 51) by six wickets WHAT GUNATHILAKA SAIDFollowing are the excerpts of Danushka Gunathilaka’s conversation with the media after the first T20I between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka Thursday.Did the Sri Lanka batsmen have plan to go after everything?Yes. It was a good wicket to bat. We talked about it before the second innings and we just needed to do our basics and we knew that if we executed the basics we could achieve the target.Do you think it was below-par bowling from Bangladesh?I can’t say because the wicket was so good to bat. They didn’t do variation much, I guess, but our batters did really well because we were trying to attack them. We knew that we had to chase down 190 (194), a tough total. So we had to put the pressure from the start.What are your thoughts on Kusal Mendis and Dasun Shanaka’s batting?He [Mendis] hasn’t scored so many runs in T20Is but you know he is very capable to play T20Is, he is a very good player. And also Dasun Shanaka, he has the ability to hit sixes and fours; he is a very hard-hitting batsman. And when they get starts and get going we can easily win matches like this.What was the feeling like in the Lankan camp after getting to see Bangladesh giving debuts to four youngsters?It’s not like that. We didn’t take it for granted. Bangladesh team are always doing good, especially in the last two years. We didn’t take them for granted, but we had to do really well to beat Bangladesh because they have so many good players. I know especially last year in the BPL some of their players played really well. Bowlers as well.