Dubai 2 September : Former champions Sri Lanka held their nerve to make it to the Super Four of the Asia Cup here with an enthralling two-wicket win over Bangladesh in the crucial Group B game at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on Thursday.As Sri Lanka and Afghanistan qualified for Super Four from Group B It was the final day of the tournament for Bangladesh which were beaten in both matches.
On the other side, India have qualified for Super Four from Group A and the winner of the match between Pakistan and Hong Kong on Friday will take the final spot.
Aiming for a challenging total of 184, Sri Lanka started off well and scored 48 runs in the powerplay.
However, they quickly were in trouble with 774/4 in the 9th over.
In the end, Kusal Mendis, helped by a string of let-offs, scored half-century (60 off 37) and helped keep Sri Lanka in the game.
After Mendis was gone captain Dasun Shanaka was tasked with the task of maintaining the momentum, and he was able to bring Sri Lanka close to victory with his crucial strike (45 off 33) before being dismissed in the 18th over.
At 158/7 in the 18th over Sri Lanka’s hopes seemed over, however Chamika Karunaratne added some life to the game with his score of 16 off 10.Just when it appeared he would be able to take Sri Lanka home, a suicidal shot caused Karunaratne his wicket in the fifth ball of the 19th over.
However, the penultimate over ended up being an effective one for Sri Lanka, who managed 17 runs off Ebadot Hossain’s ball to turn the game in their favor.
Sri Lanka needed 8 runs from six balls, and Theekshana was able to score only a single in the very first ball of the final over.The debutant Asitha Fernando (10 not out from three balls) then hit a crucial boundary that was immediately followed by two runs from the following ball.
Sri Lanka needed only 1 from 3 at this point but it was communicated to the umpire in the field that Mahedi was stepping too far which led to Sri Lanka the thrilling win of two wickets with two wickets in the bag and four balls left.This was the most run chase to be completed in UAE in T20Is and beat the run chase of Afghanistan of 180 against UAE in the year 2016.
Ebadot Hossain (3/51) was the most successful and also as the most expensive bowler for Bangladesh and Taskin Ahmed (2/24), Mustafizur Rahman (1/32) and Mahedi Hasan (1/30) were the other wicket-takers.
The first game of the game was a blur with both teams hitting each other , but ultimately, 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 that came at regular intervals in the middle of overs.
Afif Hossain then came in and grabbed the match with the scruff of the neck.He smashed the ball to score a 23-ball 39 providing a boost to the innings.
He scored an 57-run stand using 37 balls to take the fifth wicket, before getting out in the 17th innings.
Mosaddek Hossain (24 not out of 9) and Taskin Ahmed (11 off 6) took the momentum and scored 24 runs off just 11 balls to take the 8th wicket, taking Bangladesh to 183-7.
For Sri Lanka, Chamika Karunaratne returned with figures of 2/3, and Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva scalped 2/4.
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) with 2 wickets
avn/bsk
