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Live Blog - Undefeated SL take on Bangladesh to kick off super-fours stage
By Andrew Fidel FernandoMustafizur's terrific 19th over
Although guilty of not going for a catch off Shoriful, Mustafizur has made up for his teammate's indiscretions with a bowling analysis of 3 for 19 from his four overs.His last over was especially impressive - he had both Kamindu Mendis and Wanindu Hasranga - both dangerous players - holing out. He also didn't concede a boundary.
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Shoriful's poor outing
49 Runs conceded by Shoriful in his four overs.
Things haven't gone well for Shoriful since this match began, he was expensive in the powerplay, and now has been expensive in the middle and death. With two balls to bowl he had conceded only 37. But Shanaka is now properly mid-blitz. He thumps a wide, length ball way into the stands beyond cover, and blasts a full toss down the ground for six to finish Shoriful's overs off.
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Is Shanaka getting something cooking?
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The 15th over, bowled by Nasum Ahmed, goes for 17 as Shanaka crashes two huge legside sixes, and a four over short fine leg to boot. How long can he maintain this gear?
Aslanka's started finding his range at the other end too.
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Mustafizur gets a little redemption
Kusal Perera probably should have been out on the fifth of the 13th over, when he swatted a Shoriful ball towards deep fine. But Mustafiz, who had been fielding there, attack the ball initially, but then bailed, choosing to take the ball on the bounce, when he could probably have got to it on the full, with a dive.
Shoriful was incensed, and even Taskin Ahmed showed disappointment. But it doesn't matter. Mustafizur gets Kusal Perera himself, fuorth ball of the next over. Kusal Perera did score five runs in between though
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Shanaka at No. 5
Dasun Shanaka has been Sri Lanka's longtime No. 6, and the man called upon to finish the innings. Like others in this batting order, though, Shanaka can be a bit of a slow starter. Is this promotion up to No. 5, ahead of Charith Asalanka (who tends to start pretty well) an attempt to give Shanaka more time to settle in. When he gets going, he can be utterly destructive at the back end.
He's clobbered one huge six over square leg off Shoriful Islam, but still, is striking only a little better than 100 so far.
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Mahedi strikes again
21 The number of runs Sri Lanka scored while they lost their top three
At 44 for none in the fifth over, Sri Lanka were cruising towards a big foundation. But Bangladesh have come roaring back, Kamil Mishara the third batter to fall. Mishara had hit 46* off 32 in SL's tournament opener against this very opposition and been Player of the Match for that effort. But today he couldn't muddle through his early difficulties.
He tried to play a reverse-slap against Mahedi Hasan - not a high-percentage shot at any time - but he was trying to shock his innings into motion. Mahedi bowls a lovely seam-up slider though, and pings the top of Mishara's middle stump, ast the batter misses. Suddenly Sri Lanka are 65 for 3 and need their middle order to fire.
Kusal Mendis falls sweeping
0 Number of times before today that BOTH Lankan openers failed to reach fifty, at this tournament.
That's one of his favourite shots. Maybe his favourite shot full stop. Kusal spots a looped up delivery in line with the stumps from Mahedi Hasan, and gets into a slog sweep. But Mahedi has put lots of revs and overspin on this and it bounces more than Kusal Mendis expects, and he top edges to deep backward square, where Saif Hasan is again waiting and takes a decent catch coming forward.
Sri Lanka have been reliant on their openers of late. It will worry them that one of them isn't batting deep into the middle overs, as they often have been in the past few weeks.
This is also the second Lankan opener that falls to a favoured shot. The pull is also one of Pathum Nissanka's favourites as well. Bangladesh are bowling to their strengths but doing enough with their deliveries to force the mistake.
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Taskin strikes after early blitz!
The first two overs went for 13 runs, with Shoriful Islam beating the bat on occasion and Nasum Ahmed keeping things tight in general. The warning signs were there though for Bangladesh, even during that early period, with Kusal picking on up over square leg for six off Shoriful before executing a deft late cut against Nasum for a boundary.
But with two overs providing a sighter of sorts, Nissanka put Shoriful to the sword with a trio of boundaries - including a thunderous pull over midwicket.
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Nissanka greeted Taskin with similar venom, flicking him off the pads for a massive six, but the seamer had the last laugh as the Lankan open miscued another attempted flick, this time straight to the man at deep midwicket.
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Focus on The Fizz
Mustafizur Rahman went wicketless against Hong Kong, was expensive against Sri Lanka despite picking up a wicket, but against Afghanistan he finally put his best foot forward taking three wickets for 28 runs, and in the process helped defend a middling total in a must-win game.
That was also the first time in 16 T20I innings that the Fizz had picked up three wickets in a game, a run dating back to June 2024.
For fast-bowling coach Shaun Tait however has been satisfied with his senior seamer's performances, and is confident he will do better against Sri Lanka second time round.
20 Mustafizur Rahman's career T20I wickets against Sri Lanka. Only against Zimbabwe (27) has he picked up more wickets.
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Bangladesh win the toss and bowl first!
Bangladesh won the toss and decided to bowl first, as the Super Fours stage kicked off in Dubai.
It's a 70% winning record for the chasing side, and for Litton Das that played a big part in his decision. He also added that he was a little "confused" by how the wicket would behave.
Sri Lanka are a side that prefers to chase in general, and Charith Asalanka said he would have preferred to chase as well. Though, with this being a used pitch, he's not too bothered by batting first.
Sri Lanka have gone with an unchanged side, while Bangladesh have made two changes with Mahedi Hasan and Shoriful Islam coming back into the side - presumably to combat Sri Lanka's left-hand heavy batting lineup. Making way
The pitch is indeed a used one, but it's on the drier side. Sanjay Manjrekar noted that while the potential of dew means that chasing might be easier, though if the pitch continues to get drier that equation could change. In terms of ground dimensions, one square boundary is shorter than the other.
Sri Lanka XI: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Kamil Mishara, 4 Kusal Perera, 5 Charith Asalanka (capt), 6 Kamindu Mendis, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Dunith Wellalage, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Nuwan Thushara
Bangladesh XI: 1 Saif Hassan, 2 Tanzid Hasan, 3 Litton Das (capt & wk), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Jaker Ali, 6 Shamim Hossain, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman.
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ESPNcricinfo's Live Show
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Wellalage back in contention
Dunith Wellalage had initially been expected to be out of contention for today’s game following the passing of his father, but the latest news is that he has rejoined the squad this morning having flown to Sri Lanka and back to pay his respects.
So he is back in contention for selection, though his participation will depend on how Sri Lanka look to structure their side for the spin friendly conditions in Dubai. Last time Wellalage was preferred ahead of Maheesh Theekshana, and that nightmarish final over against Mohammed Nabi aside, he had been relatively economical against Afghanistan.
Theekshana offers more versatility as an all-phase bowler, however a career economy economy rate of 7.84 against Bangladesh - he’s only been more expensive against Afghanistan and India - suggests this is not an opposition he has enjoyed playing for the most part.
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Welcome to the Super Fours!
So we’re 12 matches to the good in the Asia Cup and the group stages are finally done, which means it’s time now for the business end of the tournament as we prepare to kick off the Super Fours.
Welcome to ESPNcricinfo’s Live Report as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh square off first up, with the latter looking for a measure of retribution following the former’s comprehensive victory in their group stage encounter. That match came in the proverbial “group of death” but a win here is even more crucial; with the likes of Pakistan - and particularly India - tough challenges ahead, early points on the board are vital.
That last match had also taken place in Abu Dhabi, where the pitches were a little more suited to batting, but today the action is in Dubai where batters have only gone at a strike rate of 109.26 - as opposed to Abu Dhabi where it’s been a marginally better 119.50. Bangladesh though are yet to play in Dubai this tournament, while Sri Lanka beat Hong Kong at the venue.
As we wait for the toss and team news Isam’s preview will have you covered.
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