Dubai 1st, Sep.: Sri Lanka produced an unforgettable performance to defeat Bangladesh (183/7) by two wickets in an exciting Group B game to be able to play in the Super Four of the Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on Thursday.Although Sri Lanka and Afghanistan qualified for Super Four from Group B but it was the end of the tournament for Bangladesh which were beaten in both matches.
The initial game of the game was turbulent with both teams kicking one another, but eventually, Bangladesh were successful in making a competitive score of 318/7 in 20 overs.
When Bangladesh was asked to bat first, Bangladesh promoted Mehidy Hasan Miraz (38 off 26) to start the innings, and he delivered a blistering start.But, Sri Lanka fought back with wickets on a regular basis in the middle of overs.
Afif Hossain came on and grabbed the game with the scruff of the neck.He smashed the ball to score a 22-ball 39 giving the innings a boost.
He scored 57 runs in a standoff of 37 balls in the fifth wicket, before getting out in the 17th innings.
Mosaddek Hossain (24 not out off 9) and Taskin Ahmed (11 off 6) continued to build on this momentum and scored 24 runs in 11 balls to take the eighth wicket, bringing Bangladesh to 183-7.
For Sri Lanka, Chamika Karunaratne returned with figures of 2/32, and Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva scalped 2/4.
In pursuit of a difficult score, Kusal Mendis played a fighty strike (60 off 37) and kept Sri Lanka in the game when wickets were falling from the opposite end.After Mendis was out and captain Dasun Shanaka was tasked to maintain the momentum, and he did just that with the crucial strike (45 off 33) before being dismissed in the 18th over.
After that, Chamika Karunaratne gave some hope to the Sri Lankan innings with his 16 off 10, but a suicide run caused him to lose his wicket in the fifth ball of the 19th over.
However, Asitha Fernando, who was the next to bat struck two crucial boundaries, scoring 10 not out from 3 balls .This helped Sri Lanka to a thrilling two-wicket victory with two wickets in the bag and four balls left.
Ebadot Hossain (3/51) was the most successful, as well as the most expensive bowler in Bangladesh and Taskin Ahmed (2/24), Mustafizur Rahman (1/32), Mahedi Hasan (1/30) were the other wicket-takers.
Brief score: Bangladesh 183/7 in 20 overs (Atif Hossain 39, Mehdiy Hasan Miraz 38; Chamika Karunaratne 2/32) lost to Sri Lanka 184/8 in 19.2 overs (Kusal Mendis 60, Dasun Shanaka 45; Ebadot Hossain 3/5) by two wickets
avn/bsk
