Half-century and 2000 T20I runs
Pathum Nissanka has looked like prime Aravinda and prime Mahela rolled into one in this innings (that's in bold in case any of you misunderstand what I'm saying and come after me), middling absolutely everything, holding his shape beautifully through his shots, and moving smoothly this way and that to manipulate line and length to his advantage. He gets to his half-century in just 31 balls, and at the same time goes past 2000 runs in T20Is. It's just his 68th innings in the format, so he's the quickest Sri Lankan by a distance. It took Kusal Perera 76 innings.
Anyway, Sri Lanka are 107 for 1 in ten overs. They look set to get a massive NRR boost apart from the two points from this game.
Update: Nissanka falls soon after my extravagant praise, stepping out, slugging Mahedi with the turn, and finding the fielder at deep backward square leg. He's out for 50 off 34.
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Nissanka and Mishara power on
Maybe there's a bit of dew that's making batting easier (the ball looked pretty shiny in one close-up replay as it came out of Rishad Hossain's hand in the eighth over), or Bangladesh are bowling a lot of bad balls (also true), or Sri Lanka are just outclassing them with the bat (also true - Nissanka has timed the ball like a dream and Mishara has hammered everything that's remotely hittable).
In any case, Sri Lanka are cruising here. 84 for 1 in eight overs.
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Are SL winning the power battle?
They're 55 for 1 at the end of the powerplay, and they've already hit three sixes to the one that Bangladesh managed across their 20 overs. This is partly because Bangladesh have gone short a lot more often with the ball - even the offspinner Mahedi in this sixth over, with Mishara clubbing him over the long-on boundary - but it also feels like Mishara in particular is the kind of stand-and-deliver power-hitter that Bangladesh have generally struggled to produce.
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Mishara pounces on Mahedi miss
Kamil Mishara seemed to be discovering that this was still a difficult pitch to time the ball on. Having only managed one run off his first seven balls, he looked to pull one from Shoriful that climbed awkwardly and got big on him. Hit the high part of the bat and lobbed up to the left of mid-on, where the diving Mahedi Hasan got both hands to the ball but couldn't hold on.
It could be a costly miss. Two balls later, Mishara hits a big pulled six off a short one that sits up nicely, and then Shoriful gives him width twice in a row and he slaps and punches both for four through the cover point region. Sri Lanka are 44 for 1 in five overs. That over ends up going for 18.
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Mustafizur strikes
Mustafizur Rahman gets into the attack unusually early for him, bowling the second over after fellow left-armer Shoriful Islam bowled the first. His third ball is pulled resoundingly for six by Pathum Nissanka, but he follows up two balls later with a trademark wicket, getting Kusal Mendis to nibble at an away-nipper (probably his relatively on-pace cutter) and nick off to Litton Das.
Crucial wicket for Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka are 13 for 1 in 1.5 overs.
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139 for 5
Innings Bangladesh 139 for 5 (Shamim 42*, Jaker 41*, Hasaranga 2-25)
They began their high-stakes contest against Sri Lanka miserably, slipping to 0 for 2 after Nuwan Thushara and Dushmantha Chameera bowled back-to-back wicket maidens with the new ball. But Bangladesh went into the innings break with the match still alive in tricky batting conditions, thanks to an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 86 between Shamim Hossain and Jaker Ali.
They came together at 53 for 5 in the tenth over, and walked off together at the end of the innings, unbeaten on 42 and 41 respectively. That both went at strike rates in the 120s, and both struggled to find the boundary for long stretches - including a barren spell of 21 balls - indicated both the excellence of Sri Lanka’s defensive bowling, particularly that of Chameera whose yorkers achieved a rare level of precision in overs 18 and 20, and the two-paced nature of this Abu Dhabi surface.
Shamim hit the only six of the innings, a pick-up shot over midwicket off Matheesha Pathirana in the 19th over, and that shot and Pathirana’s figures - 0 for 42 in four overs - indicated that pace onto the bat was one quantity batters could feed off in these conditions.
Sri Lanka’s other frontline bowlers were exceptional, however, with Thushara and Chameera finding swing with the new ball and mixing up their pace nicely with the old ball to finish with identical figures of 4-1-17-1. Wanindu Hasaranga, meanwhile, made a big impact in his comeback game, taking two wickets and nearly having another when a wrong’un burst through Jaker’s defences and brushed the off stump, only for the bails to stay put.
That Bangladesh managed to set Sri Lanka a target of 140 was remarkable given how they began, with their left-handed openers Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Hossain Emon struggling to find the middle of the bat against the new ball and perishing when they tried to hit out, scoring a combined 0 off 10 between them. Litton Das helped them recover somewhat with a 26-ball 28 that included three fours in the sixth over when he went after Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka’s fifth bowler, but Bangladesh didn’t do their cause any good by losing Towhid Hridoy to a run-out when he attempted a risky third run.
They could have lost Shamim in this manner too, when he was on 11 in the 13th over, but a superhero dive ensured he just about beat keeper Kusal Mendis’ between-the-legs flick onto the stumps.
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Pathirana travels
I don't think it's a coincidence that Matheesha Pathirana, Sri Lanka's most expensive bowler today, is also the one who's provided the most pace onto the bat. Starts the 19th over by getting hit for the first six of Bangladesh's innings, a pick-up shot from Shamim that travels a long way over the midwicket boundary - it may not have gone that far against someone not of his pace. Plus he's been wayward, bowling four wides including three in this 19th over, and he finishes with figures of 0 for 42 in four overs.
Bangladesh are 131 for 5. If they can get up to 145 or so, they could well be clawing their way back into this game.
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Boundaries dry up
Bangladesh are 113 for 5 after 18 overs. Shamim and Jaker are still there, but they're unable to find the boundaries. They haven't hit one in 21 balls. Some pretty good defensive bowling from Sri Lanka in this period, particularly from Chameera in the 18th over, but I think the lack of pace in this pitch has made their slower balls, yorkers and wide lines even more difficult to hit than they otherwise may have been.
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Shamim dives for safety
An absolutely spectacular dive from Shamim Hossain, with his body beyond parallel to the ground as he throws himself at the crease to try and make his ground. Great work from Kusal Mendis to turn a slightly off-target throw from the deep from Kamindu Mendis into a run-out chance, flicking between his legs and into the stumps at his end. In the end, Shamim is just out when the ball flicks the stumps, and just in when the bails light up.
He was going for a risky, risky second run there, and that brings me to one of my pet peeves. Risky singles/extra runs are absolutely not worth the trouble in T20s, in most situations. The risk-reward equation doesn't make any sense. Getting out caught on the boundary, trying to hit a six, is a far better way of getting out in this format than being run out looking for one measly extra run. Especially when you're in Bangladesh's position today, especially when you've already lost a big wicket to a run-out earlier in the innings.
In any case, Shamim survives, and he's building a decent little partnership now with Jaker. After 14 overs, Bangladesh are 84 for 5.
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Hasaranga gets Litton
Two balls after Jaker's close shave, hasaranga gets his partner. Litton looks to reverse-sweep, and the length is a little on the short side for him to play the shot safely. A bit of bounce, a bit of glove - confirmed after Sri Lanka review the not-out decision - and Kusal Mendis does the rest behind the stumps. litton goes for 28 off 28 off 26, and Bangladesh are 53 for 5 in 9.5 overs.
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Jaker bailed out
Wow. Another Hasaranga wrong'un beats another uncertain forward prod, this one from Jaker Ali, on the inside edge. Then the ball shaves off stump, causes the bails to light up momentarily, but they stay put on their grooves in the end. What a moment! Bangladesh are 52 for 4 in 9.3 overs.
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Welcome back, Mr. Hasaranga
It takes him just two balls to strike in his comeback game. Mahedi Hasan gets a bottom-edged reverse-sweep away for a couple first ball. Second ball, he plays a really, really uncertain-looking forward defensive, and you see why he's so uncertain because he misses the wrong'un by a mile. Hasaranga does a celebrappeal that's far more celebration than appeal, and it's given out immediately. Mahedi seems to debate with Litton whether the impact was in line or marginally outside off stump, and in the end decides not to review. Bangladesh are 38 for 3 in 7.2 overs.
Update: Hasaranga nearly does it again with another wrong'un two balls later, with Litton given out lbw, playing outside the line, pushing his bat well out in front of his pad while defending. Looked out on line and everything, but Litton reviewed immediately, because he knew he'd inside-edged it. Gets the decision reversed in his favour, and Bangladesh breathe. Just a little.
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Litton takes down Shanaka
Three fours in the final over of the powerplay - a chip over mid-on, a slap through cover point, a steer past short third - and Bangladesh finally get a bit of momentum. Fourteen off that over, and they're 30 for 3 in six overs. Sri Lanka looked to get a quiet over out of their sixth bowler with Bangladesh three down, but Litton ensured that didn't happen.
It could easily have been four down, though. First ball of the over seams away a little in the corridor and bounces a bit more than Litton expects. Fences at it, trying to steer it to third probably, and edges but it falls just short of the diving fly slip.
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Nearly three down
It could have been 7 for 3 in the fifth over. Hridoy tries to launch a Thushara outswinger over the covers and ends up skewing it high in the air and not nearly as far as he wants to hit it, only for Asalanka, moving to his left and towards the edge of the circle from mid-off, to fluff the reverse-cupped attempt.
One ball later, Sri Lanka get their man anyway. What a nightmare this is for Bangladesh. A nice-looking pull from Hridoy, and they look for an unwise third run, taking on Kamil Mishara's arm from the deep. He hits direct at the bowler's end, and Hridoy is well short of his ground.
Bangladesh are 11 for 3 in 4.3 overs.
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0 for 2!!!
This match is ten balls old, and we haven't had a run scored yet. And we've had two wickets. Another born of frustration on what is, I'm beginning to suspect, a two-paced pitch. There's been a bit of swing, sure, but I don't think that's the only reason why both Tanzid and now Parvez Hossain Emon have struggled so much to put the middle of their bats to ball. Again, this is an attempt at a drive on the up, and you have to play shots like that in T20, but this ball from Dushmantha Chameera, slanting across the left-hander, perhaps doesn't swing back in as much as Emon expects, and he nicks off to the keeper.
And the over ends with two more dots to the new man Towhid Hridoy. Bangladesh are 0 for 2 in two overs. What an absolutely cracking start for Sri Lanka.
Sampath Bandarupalli: "Only the sixth instance of a team failing to score a run across their first two overs of an innings in men's T20Is (where we have BBB data). Bangladesh are the second Full Member team, after Zimbabwe vs West Indies in 2010, to suffer this fate.
"It's also the first instance of Bangladesh being two wickets down without scoring a run in men's T20Is."
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Thushara starts with a wicket maiden
What a first over from Sri Lanka's new-ball slinger (we'll wait to see what their old-ball slinger does later in the innings). An over full of full balls swinging back into the left-handed Tanzid Hasan's stumps. They weren't particularly dangerous deliveries to start, but Tanzid couldn't quite get them away through the infield, and the frustration shows off the last ball: he tries to drive on the up, the ball swings past his inside edge and crashes into the stumps.
Bangladesh are 0 for 1 after one over.
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Sri Lanka bowl, Shoriful replaces Taskin
Toss Sri Lanka chose to bowl vs Bangladesh
Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka chose to bowl in the high-stakes clash against Bangladesh on a fresh pitch in Abu Dhabi. He confirmed that Wanindu Hasaranga, who missed the recent tour of Zimbabwe with a hamstring injury, is fit and back in the XI.
Hasaranga is one of three allrounders in Sri Lanka’s XI alongside Dasun Shanaka and Kamindu Mendis, and the only attacking spin option, with Maheesh Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage left out. They picked three specialist fast bowlers, however, in Dushmantha Chameera, Matheesha Pathirana and Nuwan Thushara.
Bangladesh picked three quicks too, but made one change to their pace attack from the win over Hong Kong, bringing in Shoriful Islam for Taskin Ahmed. This meant they had two left-arm seamers - Mustafizur Rahman being the other - apart from the right-arm swing of Tanzim Hasan Sakib, and two spin-bowling allrounders in Mahedi Hasan and Rishad Hossain.
Sri Lanka: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Kamil Mishara, 4 Kusal Perera, 5, Charith Asalanka (capt), 6 Dasun Shanaka, 7 Kamindu Mendis, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Matheesha Pathirana, 11 Nuwan Thushara.
Bangladesh: 1 Litton Das (capt & wk), 2 Tanzid Hasan, 3 Parvez Hossain Emon, 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Jaker Ali, 6 Shamim Hossain, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Tanzim Hasan Sakib, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman.
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Bangladesh, Sri Lanka. Need we say more?
Sixteen T20Is over the last decade. Eight wins each. A rivalry where every second matters, and one that's featured serpentine twists and turns. This is the first Full-Member-versus-Full-Member clash of this Asia Cup, and it's Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka. It's always entertaining, and there's so much riding on it because their group, Group B, is the tournament's group of death. Whoever loses this is going to have a hell of a task reaching the Super Four. After four mismatches, this is where the tournament should really, properly heat up, and we cannot wait.
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