Bangladesh lost a topsy-turvy T20 World Cup warm-ups match against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi by four wickets with an over to spare.
Bangladesh is far behind in terms of batting. Liton Das and Mohammad Naeem, the two openers who scored fifty against the Oman ‘A’ team, did not bat today. Captain Liton was ejected after 18 runs. Naeem was out for 11 runs. Bangladesh scored 41 runs in the power play despite losing two openers.
Soumya Sarkar didn’t let the pace of the run slow. He attempted to form a partnership with Mushfiqur Rahim at first, and then with Afif Hossain. Both were knocked out after settled on the wicket. The decisive blow came in the 15th over of the game. Wanindu Hasaranga, a Sri Lankan leg spinner, did not allow Soumya to extend his innings. Soumya batted 26 balls and scored 34 runs, including one four and two sixes.
Dushmantha Chameera prevented Nurul Hasan and Shamim Hossain from scoring quick runs. Both were dismissed by the fast bowler from Sri Lanka. Apart from Soumya, Mehedi Hasan’s batting has been the most impressive in T20. He has 16 runs off 12 balls, including one four and one six.
Bangladesh finished their 20 overs with a total of 147/7. With three wickets, Chameera is Sri Lanka’s leading wicket-taker.
Sri Lankan Innings
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, was in danger of chasing this run. Bangladesh’s three bowlers – Taskin Ahmed, Mehedi Hasan, and Soumya Sarkar – refused to let any of the first three batsmen stand. Taskin removed Kushal Perera, who scored four runs in eight balls. But, Avishka Fernando (62 off 42 balls) and Chamika Karunaratne (29 off 25 balls) put on an unbroken 69-run stand to secure victory with one over remaining.
Pathum Nishanka, who scored 15 runs off 12 balls, was defeated by spinner Mehdi. Dinesh Chandimal, who scored 13 runs, was picked up by Soumya. Soumya took two wickets for a total of 12 runs. Shariful Islam, Mehedi, and Taskin each took one wicket.
Bangladesh will play two official warm-up matches before competing in the T20 World Cup. Ireland will be Bangladesh’s next opponent in a warm-up match.
