COLOMBO: Mahmudullah Riyad hit an unbeaten 43 to help Bangladesh edge out Sri Lanka by two wickets in a bad-tempered Twenty20 and enter the final of the tri-series in Colombo on Friday.
Chasing 160 for victory in a virtual semi-final, Mahmudullah steered the team home with a six on the penultimate ball but not before a heated exchange of words between the players of the two sides.
The Tigers will take on India in the final on Sunday (tomorrow).Drama unfolded when Mustafizur Rahman missed two bouncers from Isuru Udana in the final over and was run out but the Bangladesh players contested the call, saying it was a no ball due to its height.
Skipper Shakib Al Hasan looked furious on the boundary and even waved to call the batsmen back to the pavilion. But sanity prevailed at R. Premadasa stadium and Bangladesh erupted after getting the winning runs.
“You can’t expect more than that in a T20 game, so much excitement, emotion. We kept our nerves in the end,” said Shakib.“We always had healthy competition in the ground, but outside, we are friends. Emotions take over, I need to be careful as a leader of a team, I will be careful next time,” he added.
It was a crucial third-wicket partnership between opener Tamim Iqbal, who made 50 off 42 balls, and Mushfiqur Rahim, who hit 28, that set up the win for the underdogs.Mystery spinner Akila Dananjaya claimed two wickets.
“Very tough game, we are disappointed. We thought we were 10-15 runs short, 160 is still reasonable,” Sri Lanka captain Thisara Perera said.Earlier, Kusal Perera and Thisara Perera struck gritty half-centuries to lift the hosts to 159-7 after being put into bat first.
Put in to bat, the hosts were reduced to 41-5 before Kusal, who made 61 off 40 balls, put on a crucial 97-run stand with stand-in skipper Thisara, who hit 58.The left-handed duo thwarted the Bangladesh attack, which was bolstered by the return of all-rounder Shakib, who got the first wicket with his left-arm spin.
Both Kusal and Thisara hit the bowlers to all parts of the ground at the R. Premadasa Stadium, hitting 10 fours and four sixes between them.Pace spearhead Mustafizur Rahman claimed two wickets but gave away 39 runs in his four overs despite bowling a maiden.The tournament commemorates 70 years of Sri Lankan independence.
Bangladesh won toss
Sri Lanka
M D Gunathilaka c Sabbir b Shakib 4
B K G Mendis c Soumya b Mustafizur 11
†M D K J Perera c Mehidy b Soumya 61
W U Tharanga run out 5
M G Shanaka c Mushfiqur b Mustafizur 0
B M A J Mendis c Mustafizur b Mehidy 3
*N L T C Perera c Tamim b Rubel 58
I Udana not out 7
A Dananjaya not out 1
Extras (4lb, 5w) 9
Total (7 wkts; 20 overs) 159
Fall: 1-15, 2-22, 3-31, 4-32, 5-41, 6-138, 7-154
Bowling: Shakib 2-0-9-1(1w); Rubel 4-0-41-1; Mustafizur 4-1-39-2(2w); Mehidy 4-0-16-1; Mahmudullah 4-0-29-0(1w); Soumya 2-0-21-1(1w)
Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal c Perera b Gunathilaka 50
Liton Das c Perera b Dananjaya 0
Sabbir Rahman st Perera b Dananjaya 13
†Mushfiqur Rahim c Perera b Aponso 28
Soumya Sarkar c Perera b Mendis 10
Mahmudullah not out 43
*Shakib Al Hasan c Dananjaya b Udana 7
Mehidy Hasan Miraz run out 0
Mustafizur Rahman run out 0
Rubel Hossain not out 0
Extras (w 9) 9
Total (8 wkts; 19.5 Overs) 160
Fall: 1-11, 2-33, 3-97, 4-105, 5-109, 6-137, 7-148, 8-148
Bowling: Fernando 1-0-10-0; Dananjaya 4-0-37-2; Aponso 3-0-19-1; T Perera 2-0-20-0; Gunathilaka 3-0-24-1; J Mendis 4-0-24-1
Result: Bangladesh won by 2 wickets
Man of the Match: Mahmudullah (Bangladesh)
Umpires: Raveendra Wimalasiri and Ruchira Palliyaguruge (Sri Lanka). TV Umpire: Ranmore Martinesz (Sri Lanka). Match Referee: Chris Broad (England)
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