Bangladesh secured an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the second match of the three-match T20I series on Wednesday in Sylhet.
With this triumph, Bangladesh evened the series after Sri Lanka clinched the first match by a narrow margin of three runs. The decisive third match of the series is scheduled for March 9.
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Chasing a target of 166 runs set by Sri Lanka, the hosts comfortably achieved victory with 11 balls to spare and eight wickets in hand.
Litton Das and Soumya Sarkar laid a solid foundation with a brisk 68-run partnership in seven overs, ensuring that the Sri Lankan bowlers struggled to gain momentum.
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Despite being out of form for an extended period, Soumya contributed 26 runs off 22 balls, while Litton made a promising start with 36 runs off 25 balls, including five fours. However, both batsmen failed to capitalise on their starts.
Following their dismissals, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Towhid Hridoy maintained the pressure on the Sri Lankan bowlers, guiding Bangladesh to a comfortable victory.
Matheesha Pathirana accounted for both wickets lost by Bangladesh in this encounter.
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Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to field first. Sri Lanka's innings got off to a shaky start, with opener Avishka Fernando departing for a seven-ball duck. However, Kusal Mendis and Kamindu Mendis stabilised the innings with a 66-run partnership for the second wicket, laying a platform for a competitive total.
Despite disciplined bowling from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka managed to post 165 runs. Angelo Mathews contributed a valuable 32 runs off 21 balls, while Dasun Shanaka chipped in with a quickfire 20 off 18 balls in the latter stages of the inning.
Bangladesh captain Najmul lauded his team's performance, emphasising their resilience and character.
“I'm really pleased with the way we bowled,” Najmul remarked. “I'm not singling out any particular bowler; they all performed admirably. Shoriful bowled impressively during the BPL as well, and it's great to see him in form.”