Mendis, Shanaka and Asitha put Sri Lanka in the Super 4s

The sound of the no-ball siren was sweet music in Sri Lanka's ears in Dubai. As soon as Asitha Fernando and Maheesh Theekshana ran two off the third ball of the last over, the TV umpire adjudged that offspinner Mahedi Hasan had overstepped, fatally, for the second time in the match. Sri Lanka had beaten Bangladesh by two wickets, to advance to the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup.

It sparked huge celebrations in the Sri Lanka dressing room and rounds of laughter as they couldn't believe their string of luck in this crunch game. Asitha, on T20I debut, struck two fours in what turned out to be the last four balls of the match, before hitting the ball into long-on for the two that sealed the deal.

Bangladesh had hope when Mahedi removed Dasun Shanaka in the 18th over after the Sri Lanka captain struck a 33-ball 45 with three fours and two sixes. Then came a seesawing 19th over, bowled by another debutant in Ebadot Hossain, in which Sri Lanka scored 17 runs but also lost the dangerous Chamika Karunaratne, run out by a Shakib Al Hasan direct hit.

But it was Sri Lanka's day, and it seemed fated to be so when Kusal Mendis survived four lives while scoring a 37-ball 60. He struck seven boundaries including three sixes, and Bangladesh were left ruing a dropped catch, a wicket chalked off when Mahedi bowled a no-ball, a missed run-out, and a review not taken.

Bangladesh had a good outing with the bat, with Afif Hossain hitting 39 off 22 balls after Mehidy Hasan Miraz, playing his first T20I in four years, rocked Sri Lanka with a brisk start.

Mehidy gamble pays off
Bangladesh sent out Sabbir Rahman and Mehidy Hasan Miraz after exhausting six different opening pairs this year. Sabbir was opening for the first time in international cricket, while Mehidy had never opened in T20Is and only once in international cricket, in the Asia Cup final four years ago, when the tournament was an ODI event.

With this backdrop, Sabbir scooped the first ball he faced, after three years of absence from the top level, to the fine-leg boundary. Mehidy rode out Sabbir's dismissal in the third over, hitting two sixes soon after, one down the ground and one ramped behind the wicket while swinging around on his toes. He hit two fours in the first six overs too, and Bangladesh rushed to 55 for 1 in the Powerplay. Mehidy fell soon after, bowled while trying to slog Wanindu Hasaranga. But he had done what he was sent out to do, and a Bangladesh opener had scored at a 140-plus strike rate in an innings spanning more than 25 balls for only the third time this year.

Wickets keep SL on track
Bangladesh got off to one of their best starts, but Sri Lanka kept on picking up wickets. Mehidy's dismissal in the seventh over was followed by Mushfiqur Rahim's in the next over, as Chamika Karunaratne got one to rear into his face, and his attempted glide towards third-man took the shoulder of the bat and only went as far as wicketkeeper Mendis.

Shakib tried to keep the run-rate going at the other end, hitting three fours off Karunaratne in the 10th over. One of them took him to 6,000 T20 runs, making him only the second cricketer to score this many runs and take more than 400 wickets in the format. But Maheesh Theekshana removed him in his last over, the 11th, again cutting down Bangladesh's momentum just when they looked to be going strong.

Afif gives Bangladesh late boost
Mahmudullah and Afif Hossain put on 59 for the fifth wicket, hitting five fours and three sixes between them. Afif struck Hasaranga for a four and a slog-swept six in the 13th over, before Mahmudullah pasted the same bowler in his next over, for another slog-swept six and a hit inside-out, high over extra-cover. Afif hammered Fernando for his second six in the next over, before scooping him for four.

The pair fell within four balls of each other, both trying to slog the ball into the deep leg-side field. But Mosaddek Hossain hit two fours immediately after walking in, before adding two more fours in a 17-run last over bowled by Asitha, which also included a scythed six over long-off from Taskin Ahmed.

Ebadot hits back after brisk opening stand
Sri Lanka's openers began slowly, scoring just 13 off the first three overs of the chase, before exploding to life in the fourth and fifth overs, highlighted by Mendis slog-sweeping and sweeping Shakib for two sixes and a four off successive balls. Just when Sri Lanka seemed to be running away, though, Ebadot Hossain salvaged Bangladesh's powerplay, removing Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka in his first over in T20Is. Both were off short balls. Nissanka, who had struck a six and two fours, only managed to lob-pull a catch to midwicket, while Asalanka's attempt to clear mid-off found the fielder.

In his next over, the eighth of the innings, Ebadot removed Danushka Gunathilaka, as Taskin ran hard from the deep fine-leg boundary and dived forward to complete a brilliant catch. Inspired by the catch, Taskin then removed Bhanuka Rajapaksa in the next over, caught at deep third off an attempted ramp gone wrong.

Mendis rides his luck
Just how many lives can a batter fit into a T20I innings? Ask Mendis. He got away with four lives in his 37-ball stay. When he was on 2, keeper Mushfiqur dropped him off Taskin. Then, in the seventh over, he was caught behind off Mahedi, only for the no-ball siren to blare around the ground, allowing Mendis to continue his innings at 29. In the next over, he swung at an Ebadot delivery that took a bit of glove. Neither the bowler nor wicketkeeper Mushfiqur were sure of it, and Bangladesh missed out on sending it up for review.

Sabbir had another chance when Mendis, on 44, and Shanaka got into a mix-up, but he missed the stumps with Mendis at least a foot short of the crease. Finally, Taskin took a diving catch at third to send Mendis back for 60. Taskin had a fine day, finishing with 2 for 24 from four overs apart from taking those two catches, but his energy didn't quite rub off on the rest of his team.