DHAKA: Opener Kusal Mendis scored his maiden half century in Twenty20 internationals to lead Sri Lanka’s six-wicket rout of Bangladesh in the first of the two matches in Dhaka on Thursday.
Mendis smashed 53 off 27 balls while Dasun Shanaka hit an unbeaten 42 as the visitors eased past Bangladesh’s record total of 193-5 with 20 balls to spare.Shanaka, who hit 3 fours and 3 sixes in his 24-ball blitz, shared an unbeaten 65-run stand with Thisara Perera to snap Sri Lanka’s eight-match losing streak in T20 matches.
Bangladesh rode on brisk half-centuries by Soumya Sarkar and Mushfiqur Rahim to post their highest-ever T20 total but were undone by an attacking opposition batting.Sri Lanka responded strongly with Mendis putting on 53 runs with fellow-opener Danushka Gunathilaka, who made 30, to put the Bangladesh bowlers on the backfoot.
Left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam broke the stand when he got Gunathilaka stumped.Nazmul later picked the wicket of Upul Tharanga, for four, before fellow debutant Afif Hossain removed Mendis.
But Shanaka and Perera ensured no further hiccup in the Sri Lankan innings.Earlier, the home side surpassed their previous highest score of 190-5 against Ireland at Belfast in 2012, thanks to some prolific batting by Mushfiqur and Soumya.Mushfiqur remained unbeaten on 66 off 44 balls while Soumya hit a 32-ball 51 after the hosts elected to bat first.
Bangladesh won toss
Bangladesh
Zakir Hasan b Gunathilaka 10
Soumya Sarkar lbw b J Mendis 51
†Mushfiqur Rahim not out 66
Afif Hossain c Dickwella b J Mendis 0
*Mahmudullah c Dananjaya b Udana 43
Sabbir Rahman b T Perera 1
Ariful Haque not out 1
Extras (b1, lb3 w16, nb1) 21
Total (5 wickets; 20 overs) 193
Did not bat: Mohammad Saifuddin, Nazmul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain
Fall: 1-49, 2-100, 3-100, 4-173, 5-186
Bowling: Madushanka 3-0-39-0 (w2), Gunathilaka 2-0-16-1 (w5), Udana 4-0-45-1 (w5), T Perera 4-0-36-1 (w3, nb1), Dananjaya 4-0-32-0 (w1), J Mendis 3-0-21-2
Sri Lanka
K Mendis c Soumya b Afif 53
D Gunathilaka st Rahim b Nazmul 30
U Tharanga c Afif b Nazmul 4
D Shanaka not out 42
†N Dickwella c Saifuddin b Rubel 11
T Perera not out 39
Extras (lb3, w12) 15
Total (4 wickets 16.4 overs) 194
Did not bat: *D Chandimal, J Mendis, A Dananjaya, S Madushanka, I Udana
Fall: 1-53, 2-90, 3-92, 4-129
Bowling: Nazmul 4-0-25-2 (w1), Saifuddin 2-0-33-0 (w1), Mahmudullah 2-0-23-0 (w1), Rubel 3.4-0-52-1 (w7), Mustafizur 3-0-32-0 (w1) , Afif 2-0-26-1 (w1)
Result: Sri Lanka won by six wickets
Series: Sri Lanka lead two-match series 1-0
Man of the Match: K Mendis (Sri Lanka)
Umpires: Anisur Rahman (Bangladesh) and Sharfuddoula (Bangladesh) . TV Umpire: Masudur Rahman (Bangladesh) . Match Referee: David Boon (Australia)
