SYLHET: Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto led from the front with an unbeaten half-century as Bangladesh levelled the three-match T20 international series with an eight-wicket win against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Najmul hit a six off pacer Dasun Shanaka over deep backward square to bring up the victory as well as his fourth fifty as Bangladesh chased down Sri Lanka’s 165-5 with 170-2. He finished with a 38-ball 53, hitting four fours and two sixes. Towhid Hridoy was on 32 off 25 balls, including two fours and one six.

Hridoy and Najmul added 87 in an unbeaten third-wicket stand to hasten the victory. Bangladesh lost the first game by three wickets after a thrilling contest. The third and decisive game will be played Friday.

The hosts got off to a solid start, courtesy of openers Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar as they combined for 68 runs in 6.5 overs. Pacer Mat­heesha Pathirana broke the partnership when he had Sarkar (26) caught by Angelo Mathews at midwicket with a short ball. Pathirana’s short ball also accoun­ted for the wicket of Das after his 24-ball 36.

Hridoy and Najmul then played sedately to bring up the victory in a comprehensive manner.

Bangladesh’s bowlers also put on a disciplined show after Najmul sent Sri Lanka in to bat first.

The Sri Lankan openers took eight balls to open the scoreboard. Fast bowler Taskin Ahmed removed Avishka Fernando with a return catch for a seven ball-duck but Kusal Mendis and Kamindu Mendis put on 66 runs to bring the side back in the contest.

The Bangla­deshi bowlers regro­uped well and further established their dominance, taking wickets in quick succession. Sou­mya Sarkar dismissed Kusal for 36 before Kami­ndu was trapped run out after making a team-high 37. Mustafizur Rahman got the better of Sadeera Samarawickrama (7), who hit a half-century in the last match.

Stand-in captain Charith Asalanka struck a typically aggressive 28 while Angelo Mathews hit a 21-ball 32 not out.

Mathews and Shanaka, who was unbeaten on 20, added 53.

Scoreboard

SRI LANKA:

A. Fernando c & b Taskin 0

K. Mendis c Liton b Soumya 36

KM. Mendis run out 37

S. Samarawickrama c & b Mustafizur 7

C. Asalanka b Mahedi 28

A. Mathews not out 32

Dasun Shanaka not out 20

EXTRAS (W-5) 5

TOTAL (for five wickets, 20 overs) 165

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-1 (Fernando), 2-67 (K. Mendis), 3-77 (KM. Mendis), 4-92 (Samarawickrama), 5-112 (Asalanka)

DID NOT BAT: M. Theekshana, D. Madushanka, B. Fernando, M. Pathirana

BOWLING: Shoriful 4-1-20-0 (2w), Taskin 4-0-38-1, Mahedi 4-0-39-1 (1w), Mustafizur 4-0-42-1 (1w), Rishad 3-0-21-0 (1w), Soumya 1-0-5-1

BANGLADESH:

Liton Das c Asalanka b Pathirana 36

Soumya Sarkar c Mathews b Pathirana 26

Najmul Hossain not out 53

Towhid Hridoy not out 32

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-6, W-13) 23

TOTAL (for two wickets, 18.1 overs) 170

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-68 (Soumya), 2-83 (Liton)

DID NOT BAT: Mahmudullah, Jakir Ali, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman

BOWLING: Mathews 2.2-0-22-0, Madushanka 4-0-34-0 (1w), B. Fernando 3-0-22-0 (1w), Theekshana 4-0-35-0 (1w), Pathirana 3.4-0-28-2 (4w), Shanaka 1.1-0-19-0

RESULT: Bangladesh won by eight wickets.

PLAYER-OF-THE-MATCH: Najmul Hossain

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2024