Sri Lanka escaped by the skin of their teeth as a gritty Bangladeshi outfit came short by two runs in the first T20I played in Chittagong.
Captain Dinesh Chandimal had stated that they would like to field their best team, but Sri Lanka were struck a blow before the game began with Mahela Jayawardene being ruled out due to a split webbing.
Asked to bat first by the hosts, the Lankan’s troubles intensified as TM Dilshan was dismissed in the very first over attempting an adventurous scoop shot. The visitors did not let the dismissal contain them however, as Kusal Perera led a strong counter attack, plundering 64 of 41 balls. Although Dinesh Chandimal briefly showed promise, the rest of the Lankan middle order lost their way due to a combination of poor shots and brilliant catching by the Bangladeshis, and by the time Perera was dismissed the Lankans had conceded their early momentum to be 119 for 5. Some late hitting by Nuwan Kulasekera boosted the Lankan score however, and they finished up with a competitive 168 for 7 at close.
The Bangladeshis got off to a strong start, hitting 50 off the powerplay overs without losing a wicket. Ajantha Mendis struck soon after however, with Shamshur Rahman offering him an easy caught and bowled chance to give Sri Lanka their breakthrough. Tamim Iqbal’s wicket followed soon after pegging the Bangladeshis back further, but Shakib Al Hasan and Anamul Haque kept their teams hopes alive. The wicket of Al Hasan brought the Lankans back into the game, but Haque stayed until the end, hitting a half century and ever threatening the Lankans.
It came down to the final over of the innings with Bangladesh needing 11 runs for victory. Thisara Perera was entrusted with bowling it and two boundaries by Haque had the Chittagong crowd on their feet but the last ball of the over was hit straight in the air and caught gleefully by the bowler. There was some drama as the umpires checked for a waist high no ball, but it was a marginal call, and eventually was given in favour of Sri Lanka, enabling them to preserve their number one rank and go 1-0 up in the series.
Kusal Perera was adjudged Man of the Match
Sri Lanka 168 for 7 (Kusal 64, Sunny 2-17) beat Bangladesh 166 for7 (Anamul 58, Kulasekara 2-29) by two runs
