Bangladesh had the game in the bag, then they did not, then they did, then they did not again, and finally, they got the two points – would be the summary of the Tigers’ opening match of the 2024 T20 World Cup as they beat Sri Lanka by two wickets in Dallas on Saturday.
Bangladesh had enough doubters ahead of the game following their substandard performance ahead of the global event, which included three consecutive defeats to Zimbabwe and USA.
Yet, Bangladesh managed only their second victory over a higher-ranked team in T20 World Cups since their win against the West Indies in the inaugural edition in 2007.
Leg-spinner Rishad Hossain, the Player of the Match, picked up his career-best 3-22, alongside Mustafizur Rahman’s 3-17, to ensure Sri Lanka only a managed mediocre 124-9.
Taskin Ahmed, who recovered from his rib injury, got 2-25, while pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib took 1-24.
In reply, courtesy of Towhid Hridoy’s 40 off 20 balls, 36 off 38 balls from Liton Das, and Mahmudullah’s unbeaten 16 off 13 balls, Bangladesh managed to hold their nerves to win with six balls in hand.
Nuwan Thushara was the standout bowler for Sri Lanka, claiming 4-18.
Bangladesh, chasing the paltry total, found life difficult early on as they lost Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, and skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto for 0, three, and seven runs, respectively.
Soumya played a nothing shot in the first over to become the player with the most ducks in T20Is [13] before Tanzid followed him in the next over when Thushara rattled his stumps.
Shanto, who struggled once again, fell in the final over of the powerplay as he gave a catch to Charith Asalanka at short extra off Thusara after he combined for 22 runs with Liton.
However, the fourth wicket stand between Liton and Towhid produced 63 runs off 38 balls to put the Tigers in control before the latter fell to Wanindu Hasaranga.
Towhid, who batted at a strike rate of 200, smashed Hasaranga for three consecutive maximums, which eventually turned out to be the turning point of the game.
Liton, who played an anchoring role from the other end, was trapped LBW by the same bowler, leaving the side 26 runs away from the victory.
The scenario worsened for Bangladesh when they lost Shakib Al Hasan, Rishad, and Taskin to see them down to 113-8.
Mahmudullah, though, held his nerve to hit Dasun Shanaka for a six in the first ball of the 19th over to ease the tension and then scraped five runs off the next five balls to ensure that Bangladesh did not miss out on a win that was given after Towhid’s knock.
After the match, Bangladesh skipper Shanto said they were happy with the win, regardless of the manner or the margin.
‘It’s a victory that gave us confidence after some defeats. Whatever the margin is, I am happy to get two points and start the tournament with a victory,’ he said.
Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and put Sri Lanka in to bat first on a slow-paced wicket. However, Sri Lanka made a brilliant start, with Pathum Nissanka scoring 47 off 28 balls hitting seven fours and one six.
However, he had little company from the other end as Taskin drew first blood, getting Kusal Mendis for 10.
Mustafiz then joined the party to bring the Tigers back in the game, as he got Kamindu Mendis for four and Nissanka in his consecutive overs.
Dhananjaya de Silva and Charith Asalanka gave Sri Lanka some rays of hope but Rishad came up clutch, dismissing both of them and Hasaranga in between.
Dhananjaya made 21, while Asalanka contributed 19.
Sri Lanka could never recover from the collapse, losing wickets in clusters to end on a subpar total.
Their manager, Mahinda Halangode, believed they were 20 runs short of their total.
‘We were 20 runs short. If we could score them, it would have been a different story,’ he said.
