Sharjah: Sri Lanka opened their accounts in Super 12 of the ongoing ICC World T20 registering a 5 wicket victory over Bangladesh in Group 1 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Charith Asalanka the starred for the Lankans chasing a stiff 172 with an unbeaten 49 ball 80 alongside Bhanuka Rajapaksha(53) to seal the deal. Sri Lanka lost the experienced Kusal Perrera in the second over of their chase. Youngster Asalanka joined hands with Pathum Nissanka(24) to rebuild the innings.
The later fell to Shakib Al Hasan before Sri Lanka suffered a collapse in the middle order losing another couple of wickets and were reeling at 79/4 in the 10th over. Bangladesh bowlers did manage to put the brakes untill the Asalanka-Rajapaksha duo started the onslaught adding a match winning 86 runs in around next eight over to close tha gap. Although Rajapaksha fell in the 19th over, Asalanka made sure his side had the smile as he hit the winning runs to seal thrilling victory.
Earlier, Bangladesh rode on Mohammad Naim(62) and Mushfiqur Rahim’s (57*) knocks to 171/4 in 20 overs. The duo added 73 runs for the third wicket which propelled their side’s innings.
Bangladesh lost both Liton Das and Shakib Al Hasan cheaply. Youngster Naim brought-up his half-century in the 14th over and was set on course for a big knock but fell to Binura Fernando. Rahim, the skipper remained unbeaten till end to ensure his side get to a respectable total. Lahiru Kumara(1/29) topped the charts for the Lankan bowling while Chamika Karunaratne(1/12) also added good support.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 172/5 in 18.5 overs( Charith Asalanka 80*, Bhanuka Rajapaksha 53; Shakib Al Hasan 2/17, Nasum Ahmed 2/29) beat Bangladesh 171/4 in 20 overs (Mohammad Naim 62, Mushfiqur Rahim 57 ; Lahiru Kumara 1/29) by 5 wickets.
