Mahedi Hasan achieved a career-best performance with figures of 4 for 11, while Tanzid Hasan Tamim contributed an impressive unbeaten 73 off 47 balls, marking his highest T20I score. This outstanding effort propelled Bangladesh to a 2-1 series victory against Sri Lanka, culminating in an eight-wicket win in the decisive match held at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday, July 16.
Mahedi Hasan's magical spell restricts Sri Lanka's batting order
Choosing to bat, Sri Lanka encountered early difficulties as Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera were dismissed within the first two overs. Shortly after hitting a boundary, Mendis flicked a delivery from Shoriful Islam directly to deep backward square, while Perera was dismissed for a golden duck, edging Mahedi to slip. Nissanka was dropped off Shoriful, but Sri Lanka faced another setback as Dinesh Chandimal edged a top ball from Mahedi in the fifth over, leaving the team at 34 for 3. Nissanka continued to keep the scoreboard ticking, but he was losing partners at the other end as Mahedi claimed his third wicket by bowling Charith Asalanka for 3.
Mahedi concluded an outstanding bowling display by dismissing the well-set Nissanka, taking a caught and bowled and finishing with a wicket maiden as Sri Lanka fell to 66 for 5. Kamindu struck a six and a four off Tanzim Hasan Sakib but was dismissed shortly thereafter by Shamim Hossain. By the conclusion of the 17th over, Sri Lanka had barely surpassed 100 runs and had lost their seventh wicket, with Mustafizur Rahman taking out Vandersay. At the end of the 19th over, they had only managed 110 runs. Their ability to exceed 130 was due to Dasun Shanaka, who hit two sixes and two fours in a 22-run over off Shoriful, aiding Sri Lanka in achieving a respectable total.
Tanzid Hasan quickie chases down the target
Mahedi’s significant spell was instrumental in limiting the hosts to a score of 132 for 7, with Pathum Nissanka (46) being the sole top-five batsman to achieve double digits. Tanzid then took control of the chase with a performance filled with sixes (6 sixes and 1 four), forming half-century partnerships with Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy, as Bangladesh concluded the match in 16.3 overs, securing their first-ever T20I series victory over Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh’s pursuit did not commence positively as Parvez Hossain Emon was dismissed leg before wicket by Nuwan Thushara on the very first ball. Litton was initially ruled out lbw by Binura Fernando, but he successfully utilized the DRS to reverse the call. He then established a solid partnership with Tanzid, placing Bangladesh in a commanding position. By the end of the sixth over, Bangladesh had reached 47 for 1, with both Litton and Tanzid hitting a six each. The six-hitting spree continued beyond the PowerPlay, with Tanzid clearing the boundary twice against Charith Asalanka and once against Jeffrey Vandersay.
The partnership, which was worth 74 runs, concluded in the ninth over when a slogsweep led to Litton’s dismissal by Kamindu Mendis for 32 runs. However, this did not deter Tanzid, who struck a delivery from Vandersay over the leg side for a six and then edged for a four, racing to a fifty off just 27 balls, propelling Bangladesh to 89 for 2 at the midpoint of their innings. Bangladesh surpassed the 100-run mark in the 12th over when Maheesh Theekshana dropped a catch of Tanzid off Kamindu, who was also hit for a six in the same over. Towhid was content to play a supporting role, rotating the strike, and then unleashed his batting prowess by hitting a four off Thushara and a maximum off Theekshana before scoring the winning run.
SCORECARD: Sri Lanka 132/7 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 46, Dasun Shanaka 35*; Mahedi Hasan 4-11) lost to Bangladesh 133/2 in 16.3 overs (Tanzid Hasan Tamim 73*, Litton Das 32; Kamindu Mendis 1-21) by 8 wickets.