At the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday, Sri Lanka put on a remarkable effort to defeat Bangladesh (183/7) by two wickets in a thrilling Group B encounter and advance to the Asia Cup 2022 Super Four.
Bangladesh's participation in the competition was over after they lost both of their matches, but Sri Lanka and Afghanistan advanced to the Super Four from Group B.
Both teams traded blows with one another throughout the whole first innings of the game, but Bangladesh eventually succeeded in posting a respectable score of 183/7 in 20 overs.
Bangladesh was given the opportunity to bat first and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (38 off 26) was elevated to open the innings. He provided them a strong start. But in the middle overs, Sri Lanka fought back, taking wickets at regular intervals.
The innings gained momentum when Afif Hossain came on and smashed his way to a 39 off 22 balls. Before being bowled in the 17th innings, he held a 57-run standoff for the fifth wicket off the bat in 37 balls.
With the momentum still going, Mosaddek Hossain (24 not out off 9) and Taskin Ahmed (11 off 6) hammered 24 runs off 11 balls for Bangladesh's eighth wicket, bringing the score to 183-7. Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva took 2/41, while Chamika Karunaratne scored 2/32 for Sri Lanka.
While wickets were falling from the other end, Sri Lankan batsman Kusal Mendis played a valiant knock (60 off 37) to keep his team in the game. After Mendis was out, it was up to captain Dasun Shanaka to maintain the momentum, which he accomplished with a pivotal knock (45 off 33) before being dismissed in the 18th over.
With his 16 off 10 following that, Chamika Karunaratne gave the Sri Lankan innings some breathing room, but a reckless run cost him his wicket on the fifth ball of the 19th over. The following batter, Asitha Fernando, though, smashed two crucial boundaries to make 10 runs off just three balls and guide Sri Lanka to an exciting two-wicket victory with two wickets remaining and four balls to spare.
The most productive and expensive bowler for Bangladesh was Ebadot Hossain (3/51); the other wicket-takers included Taskin Ahmed (2/24), Mustafizur Rahman (1/32), and Mahedi Hasan (1/30).
Brief scores: Bangladesh 183/7 in 20 overs (Atif Hossain 39, Mehdiy Hasan Miraz 38; Chamika Karunaratne 2/32) lost to Sri Lanka 184/8 in 19.2 overs (Kusal Mendis 60, Dasun Shanaka 45; Ebadot Hossain 3/51) by 2 wickets