NEW DELHI: The
Sri Lanka
and
Bangladesh
rivalry lived up to the spectators' expectations as the Tigers secured a nail-biting two-wicket victory over the Lions at Grand Prairie Stadium in the ongoing
T20 World Cup
on Saturday.
The match was a rollercoaster of emotions with momentum shifts keeping fans on the edge of their seats.
Bangladesh, after restricting Sri Lanka to a modest 124/9, faced an early scare when Nuwan Thushara and
Dhananjaya de Silva
struck quickly, leaving the Tigers at 28/3.
As it happened: Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh
Litton Das and Towhid Hridoy then steadied the innings with a crucial 63-run partnership, taking the score to 91/4 and putting Bangladesh in control.
However, Sri Lanka's captain
Wanindu Hasaranga
reignited his team's hopes with a stellar bowling performance. Hasaranga removed both set batters, including Hridoy who had hit three consecutive sixes in the 11th over to ease the scoreboard pressure.
T20 World Cup Schedule | Points Table | Squads
The pressure mounted again as Litton fell to Hasaranga's clever variations. With Bangladesh's middle order collapsing, experienced campaigner
Shakib Al Hasan
was also dismissed by Matheesha Pathirana, and Thushara's back-to-back wickets in the 18th over further tilted the game in Sri Lanka's favor.
Needing 11 runs off the final two overs, Dasun Shanaka was tasked with the penultimate over, but Mahmudullah's cool-headed six off the first ball turned the tide once more. He then scored the winning runs on the last ball, sealing a dramatic two-wicket win for Bangladesh.
Earlier, Bangladesh's decision to bowl first paid off as
Mustafizur Rahman
and Rishad Hossain dismantled Sri Lanka's batting lineup, each claiming three wickets and restricting them to 124/9. Pathum Nissanka's fighting 47 off 28 balls was the only highlight for Sri Lanka in a challenging innings.
(With inputs from ANI)
English (US) ·