Bangladesh win T20 warm-up by 41 runs

Bangladesh travelled to Sri Lanka for the Nidahas T20I tri-nation series with the hope of recovering their confidence in the dressing room and the Tigers were spot on in the T20 warm-up, winning by 41 runs against Sri Lanka Cricket President's XI. The Tigers through a team effort defeated the local side at Colombo Cricket Ground Tuesday. Option is slim to take the Bangladesh win lightly, given that the opponent had a good number of Sri Lanka capped players. Led by Dhananjaya de Silva, the SLC President's XI featured Niroshan Dickwella, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Lakshan Sandakan and Angelo Perera, among others. Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Liton Das perhaps made the most impact in the game. The right-handed batsman was not able to score the highest in the innings but his 18-ball 40 made a statement, bearing in mind the situation he was in. Liton had come in to the squad as the replacement for the injured Shakib al Hasan and was able to play the practice game Tuesday because prominent opener Tamim Iqbal was rested. The blazing performance should catch the attention of the selection body.

Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka Cricket President XI by 41 runs in the practice match ahead of the Nidahas Trophy 2018. pic.twitter.com/xGYGqsFvLh

— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) March 6, 2018

Considering the light nature of the warm up, there was no toss and Bangladesh batted first. And despite the early loss of opener Soumya Sarkar, boosted with Liton's innings, Bangladesh posted 186 on the board losing five wickets in their stipulated 20 overs. Stumper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim struck the lone half-century of the innings adding 65 off 44 balls while stand-in captain Mahmudullah posted a 27-ball 43. Later, the Tigers defended the target by restricting SLC President's XI to 145 in 19 overs. The bowling should bring a bit of respite to the Bangladesh bowlers who made good contributions in the attack. Fast bowlers Taskin Ahmed and Rubel Hossain picked up two wickets each. Taskin in three overs gave away 16 runs while Rubel in as many overs conceded 19 runs. BRIEF SCORE Sri Lanka President's XI 145 in 19 overs (Dickwella 27, Taskin 2/16, Rubel 2/19) lost to Bangladesh 186/5 (Mushfiq 65, Mahmudullah 43, Liton 40) by 41 runs