NIDAHAS TROPHY 2018
Live Cricket Score - India vs Bangladesh, Nidahas Trophy 2018 final
Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on Sun, 18 Mar, 2018, 10:49 PM
Live Score Updates India 168/6 (20.0 Ovs) Washington Sundar 0 (0) Bangladesh 166/8 Rubel 4-0-35-2 India won by 4 wkts Live Scores Full Scorecard
India have been unbeaten against Bangladesh in T20Is © AFP
Nidahas Trophy was a tournament that did not come with a lot of relevance. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were playing each other non-stop for three months. Indian players too have had regular contest with Sri Lanka and had this tournament sandwiched between two bigger tournaments. However, the tournament some entertaining cricket and close finishes. Bangladesh managed to succeed in two of them against Sri Lanka, but couldn't do the same against India in the final.
Nonetheless, all the three teams had some exceptional individual performances. While it was the experienced lot for the Bangladesh players, India and Sri Lanka saw some of their younger players stand up and count. Even today, while Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik became the chief architect of the chase, it was the young spinners - Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal who set it up for them.
A fine tournament, with a lot of drama and good cricket, came to an end off the final ball of the 20th over of the final.
A sensational finish!
As sensational a finish as you can find was on offer in the Nidahas Trophy final. Needing five runs to win off the final ball, Dinesh Karthik stretched towards the off and connected a shot to send the ball over the extra cover boundary to seal the deal for India.
Soumya Sarkar, who bowled superbly in the last over, filled up for the frontline bowlers, but was left in tears. The entire Indian team came charging on to the ground to surround and hug Karthik in celebration.
India were the favourites going into the final, but Bangladesh gave a good fight despite being behind in the game for most parts.
DK's party begins quick
Dinesh Karthik is turning this around again. He had to wait as late as the end of the 18th over to come out to bat. But he has already made an impact with two sixes and a boundary to begin with off Rubel Hossain. The crowd has come alive in Colombo
An over to remember
Mustafizur Rahman has bowled a golden over here. One one run conceded from the 18th over. Only one leg bye conceded and also the wicket of Manish Pandey to go with it. Dinesh Karthik has walked out to bat with India needing 34 runs from the last two overs.
The chase becomes tighter
Bangladesh are pulling this chase further. Vijay Shankar and Manish Pandey are finding it difficult to find boundaries. Runs aren't coming as quickly as they would like. How crucial was the dismissal of Rohit Sharma?
Big strike!
And Nazmul Islam has got Bangladesh the big breakthrough - Rohit Sharma. The Indian skipper steps out of the crease to hit the left-arm spinner over the ropes but holes out the fielder at long on. WIth Manish Pandey yet to get going and Vijay Shankar, the new batsman at the crease, not having faced a delivery, can Bangladesh turn this around.
50 up for the skip!
Rohit Sharma has played an authoritative innings today, leading the chase from the front. In the process, he has become the third India to notch up 7000 T20 runs and also brought up a fine fifty
Most 50+ scores in T20Is
18 - Virat Kohli
16 - Martin Guptill/Rohit Sharma#IndvBan#NidahasTrophy2018 — Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) March 18, 2018
KL falls
This is a much-needed breakthrough for Bangladesh. KL Rahul, who had stitched a 51-run stand with Rohit Sharma for the third wicket, departed after playing a pull shot straight to the fielder at deep square leg. Third wicket down for India. Can Bangladesh put India under pressure?
Here's a list of Indian batsmen with over 7000 ODI runs:
7378 Suresh Raina
7095 Virat Kohli
7000* ROHIT SHARMA
Rohit and Rahul show
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul with their aggressive batting have wrestled the control of the game. Even after Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan fell in quick succession, Bangladesh have failed to put adequate pressure on India, let alone sustain it. India are quickly charging towards the target.
Strike 1
There seemed to be no stopping to the way Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were going after the bowlers. However, it is Shakib Al Hasan who strikes. Shikhar Dhawan gets a leading edge while looking to make room and cut, and is caught at mid off. Bangladesh need more of these, and quickly.
Quick start
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have started the chase on fifth gear. As Rohit Sharma had expected, the pitch seems to have become easy for batting in the second innings. Bangladesh need quick wickets to stay in the game for long.
Fine finish
Mehidy Hasan hit some lusty blows in the last over, throwing his bat at everything and it has paid off very well for the team. They managed to score 18 runs off the last over bowled by Shardul Thakur and propelled Bangladesh to 166 for 8. The Mumbai pacer, had another disappointing return. It is a pretty decent total, given the kind of start Bangladesh got.
Can India chase it down?
The big wicket
Sabbir Rahman was threatening to take Bangladesh past the 165-run mark. But Jaydev Unadkat cut short his fine innings on 77. It was a mature innings. And with his wicket, Bangladesh don't have a batsman to hit the big shots in the last two overs.
Taking on the weak
Vijay Shankar had a good run in the tournament before coming to the final. However, today the lack of pace and variety has been exposed. With the other bowlers making it difficult for the batsmen to score freely, all the Bangladeshi batsmen, especially Sabbir Rahman, have taken on the Tamil Nadu medium pacer.
A mix-up and a wicket
In a grand mix-up where both the batsman and the bowler were late in reacting, Mahumadullah has lost his wicket - run out. Big blow for Bangladesh. The partnership was going well but the batsmen committed harakiri. Sabbir Rahman is looking good in the middle and the onus will be on him now to take Bangladesh to a good total. He has Shakib Al Hasan for company now.
Chahal's party continues
Yuzvendra Chahal comes on to bowl his third over and strikes again. The leggie tossed it up and Mushfiqur Rahim failed to connect the pull. He got a top edge to the delivery and Vijay Shankar took a superb catch. 10 overs down, they are scoring just over run a ball. Bangladesh will need to get the scoreboard moving quickly.
Sabbir gets going
Sabbitr Rahman has got going, with a boundary and a six off Vijay Shankar. Vijay Shankar's limitations with the ball was well used by Sabbir. He will remain the bowler the Bangladeshi batsmen would look to target today. Runs aren't coming easy against Yuzvendra Chahal, who is operating from the other end.
Top order demolished
Soumya Sarkar's stay at the crease was brief, really brief. The left-hander looked to sweep Yuzvendra Chahal but hit it straight to Shikhar Dhawan at square leg. Second wicket in the over for the leggie. India are on top quite early in the game. Time for the experienced trio - Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah - to take over.
The opening partner follows
Brought on in the fifth over, Yuzvendra Chahal strikes right away! The legspinner shortens the length as Tamim Iqbal looks to go down the track. He gets a lot of height and nearly the distance, but Shardul Thakur takes a superb catch at long off. Both the openers are now back in the dressing room in quick succession after a good start.
Washington Sundar in PP overs in #NidhasTrophy
78 balls
77 runs
Six wkts
46 dots
ER 5.92
Dot % 58.97 %
Balls/Boundary 7.80#INDvBAN — Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) March 18, 2018
First strike
Yet again, Washington Sundar has delivered in the powerplay. Not only has he been economical while both Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das were going after Jaydev Unadkat at the other end, he has also managed to dismiss the latter with his canny and tight bowling.
Steady start
Bangladesh haven't come out all blazing like they had done in their previous games. There is a bit of caution with which they are playing their strokes, but scoring at a good pace to begin with. Both Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das are taking calculated risks to keep the regular flow of boundaries going.
Final begins
Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das have come out to open the innings for Bangladesh, while Jaydev Unadkat has taken the new ball for India. How much do you think Bangladesh will score today?
Bangladesh in tournament finals:
ODIs -
vs SL, Dhaka, 2009: Lost by two wkts
vs Pak, Dhaka, 2012: Lost by two runs
vs SL, Dhaka, 2018: Lost by 79 runs
T20Is-
vs Ind, Dhaka, 2016: Lost by eight wkts
This is their first final outside Dhaka.#INDvBAN #NidahasTrophy — Deepu Narayanan (@deeputalks) March 18, 2018
Toss
India won the toss and elected to field. Rohit Sharma, India skipper, believes that the wicket will get better as the game progresses. India have made one change to their side with Jaydev Unadkat returning in place of Mohammed Siraj.
Teams:
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mehidy Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Nazmul Islam
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Lokesh Rahul, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal
Build Up
Hello and welcome to the final of the Nidahas Trophy. For what was a celebration of Sri Lanka's independence, the two visitors have got a chance to win the trophy. After a lot of drama and some entertaining cricket, which got lost amidst a series of controversies in the previous game, Bangladesh have booked a spot in the final and have an opportunity to win the trophy where they didn't get off to the best of starts.
Even against a near second-string Indian side, Bangladesh have looked comfortably the second-best side in the tournament so far. But with the talismanic skipper Shakib al Hasan back, and several other players finding form, they threaten to pose a more difficult challenge.
Who will win? Voice your opinion. Tweet to us or write on the comments section below.
Squads
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Lokesh Rahul, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Rishabh Pant
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mehidy Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Nazmul Islam, Abu Jayed, Taskin Ahmed, Imrul Kayes, Nurul Hasan, Ariful Haque, Abu Hider Rony
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The wait ends for Dinesh Karthik
• Last updated on Mon, 19 Mar, 2018, 12:55 PM Shirshendu Roy in Colombo
Wonder if Dinesh Karthik has ever come across the lines coined by Paulo Coelho, the one about the universe conspiring to help you achieve what you so dearly seek. But that question was reduced to a moot point because when you have lived it, you need not read it. On Sunday, at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, there were about 20,000 people who thronged the stands, even without the hosts playing a part in it. After a distasteful loss at the hands of Bangladesh, the Sri Lankan fans had turned bitter and the only team they had come to support was India. But when Mustafizur Rahman beat the greenhorn Vijay Shankar's bat, four times in a row in the 18th over, the crowd lost its voice for the first time, and when Manish Pandey was dismissed with 34 needed off the final 12, most of them had rested their case.
Then entered Dinesh Karthik, a man who was 'upset' only a few moments ago, according to his captain because he had been kept waiting.
Vijay Shankar, who hadn't had a bat in the series earlier, was promoted ahead of him and that left the wicketkeeper-batsman miffed. It needed Rohit Sharma to sit him down at the dugout and explain the reasoning behind it. "When I got out, I went and sat in the dugout and he was quite upset that he didn't bat at six. But I told him: I want you to bat and finish off the game for us, because whatever skill you have, it will be required in the last three or four overs." Rohit revealed after the match, on Sunday (March 18).
The 'wait' has been synonymous with Karthik's career. And it's a story well-known. Karthik made his first international appearance a few months before MS Dhoni did, in 2004 but he could never make the wicketkeeper's spot his own. And once Dhoni entered the race, Karthik soon went from the primary holder of the spot to the first-choice backup. His international appearances came few and far between. And whenever he came in, at times as injury replacement or to provide Dhoni rest, he would score a few and disappear from memory again.
But in 2017, the winds began to change. India wasn't looking for a replacement wicketkeeper now, but a batsman who could lend stability to the line-up, and provide answers to the No.4 conundrum. There again, he had to wait for his chances amongst other contenders. The younger potential would again get ahead of him in that line. And the wait continued.
He had a fine tour of West Indies on return, and in India too, he produced one cameo of note or the other. So when Rohit placed his trust in Karthik, it was a validation of his maturity. Only a day before, Karthik had emphasised the need to 'embrace pressure' rather than run away from it or use it as an excuse.
This Sunday was, seemingly, not very different.
But, there was hardly anything you could make out through the visor of Karthik's helmet when he walked in after a wait. Anxious? Nervous? Upset?
In an ideal world, he would have probably come in earlier when the situation hadn't slipped out of grasp as badly as it had when he eventually arrived. Once in, he had a quick word with Shankar and headed off to take strike. He marked his guard and went away to the side wickets. As the bowler waited on top of his run-up, Karthik went down into his haunches, and in an almost meditative state, took a deep breath and perhaps lived his entire career of promises - more unfulfilled than fulfilled, in those seconds. Over the next ten minutes, Karthik's time finally arrived.
His captain's reasoning for holding him back was based on observations of the game and the man. "It was because we wanted one of the experienced guys batting at the end. I thought Mustafizur would bowl probably the 18th and the 20th over. We knew he would come out with his off-cutters and Dinesh probably would have been a better choice at that point, because when I got out there were eight or nine overs left.
"Had we lost the game, you can say that it would have looked bad. But that was the idea - to have Dinesh at the back end, because he's batted in that position in a list of games for his state teams. Even when he was playing for Mumbai Indians with me, I knew his ability with the bat. He's got some different types of skill shots that would probably be required at that point at the death overs. I can proudly say it paid off," Rohit said later.
Bangladesh's best bowler of the tournament, Rubel Hossain was taken on by Karthik in the penultimate over and hit for 16 off the first three balls, and then another four to finish the over. Even after striking 22 runs off that over, there were 12 more needed off the final one, before it boiled down to five off the last ball. Comparisons were already being made - in hush-hush tones - between Karthik and Dhoni. When he hit a six to win the game for India, the explanation needed a glance skywards to the stars.
That the team was bereft of Dhoni on this tour and still needed a Dhoniesque finish was a screenplay that had much intrigue, and when a wicketkeeper hit the winning six, the drama was complete.
This knock has come when Karthik is 32, a period which is supposed to see a batsman at the height of his powers. Although tempting, it'd be whimsical to suggest that Karthik is ready to take on Dhoni's mantle. But, that he belongs in this unit shouldn't be in doubt anymore. This knock has, perhaps, done just enough to see Karthik transition from standby to stand-alone.
A day before the game, Karthik had talked about the immense competition for spots in the Indian team and how one bad tournament can see him out of the unit. On Sunday night, he shed those insecurities in style.
The 'wait' should be over now for Dinesh Karthik.
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This might be start of a new chapter: Shakib
Atif Azam • Last updated on Mon, 19 Mar, 2018, 12:55 PM
Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh skipper, hailed Dinesh Karthik's innings but also lauded the effort of his team after they lost the final of Nidahas Trophy to India off the last ball of the match in Colombo. He believes the heart-breaking experience will leave his team in good stead for the future.
Following the dismissal of Rohit Sharma, Bangladesh had managed to claw back in to the contest, after being behind in the game for most parts. They reached their peak period of dominance following the 18th over by Mustafizur Rahim, who conceded only a solitary run - a leg bye - and also accounted for the wicket of Manish Pandey. With 34 runs needed off the last two overs and an out-of-touch Vijay Shankar at the crease, Bangladesh were on top.
However, the arrival of Dinesh Karthik changed the complexion of the game altogether and India managed to clinch the match, courtesy his unbeaten 29 off eight balls. Despite mounting pressure, the wicketkeeper-batsman produced a fine knock. His innings began with two sixes and a four off Rubel Hossain's 19th over, in which he picked up 22 runs and ended with a six off Soumya off the last ball of the tournament.
"You learn more things when you lose a game," Shakib told reporters after the game. "We could have rectified so many small things which could have gone our away and we could have won easily.
"These things happen in cricket, which is why T20 is so exciting. India were almost out of the game [before Karthik started hitting]. I think we did well for 38 overs except for the Miraz over at the start and the second last over when Rubel went for 22 runs.
"Credit goes to Dinesh Karthik for the way he batted. It is not an easy thing to do to hit a low full-toss like that. Five of the eight balls he faced went for boundaries. I think he hit three sixes. It was amazing hitting. We were so close, but India were on the winning side in the end. But you can't take anything away from us, with the way we played in this tournament, and today. We showed some good character and played in the right spirit. I can't ask for more from my team."
With Mehidy Hasan or the other offspinners - Mahmudullah and Sabbir Rahman - not bowling after the former was smashed for 17 runs off his first over, the onus fell on Soumya Sarkar to fill in the remaining three overs with his medium pace. Even as he conceded 20 runs off his first two overs, it was well below the required rate for India at that point. But at the same time, he had to use up Mustafizur Rahman earlier in order to keep the pressure on India from the other end and not let them loose against the spinners. The all-rounder admits that bringing Rubel Hossain in the 19th over was a gamble which eventually didn't pay off.
"When Mustafizur bowled that brilliant over, India needed 34 off the last two overs. Rubel was our best bowler today after the way he bowled the first three overs. I believed in him. I thought even if he bowled badly, he would go for 15 runs. I would have 20 runs to play with in the last two overs, which would have given Soumya some cushion. It was the plan behind bringing Rubel in the 19th over.
"He (Rubel) didn't miss by much. I don't know many batsmen who can hit a six off the first ball, and then keep hitting the boundaries. There are very few instances in history. There was something otherworldly about it. He got nervous after going for 10 runs off the first two balls. I still feel that I will back him the next time such a situation comes," he said.
Shakib added that instead of grumbling for not being able to break the jinx of losing in the final they should take the positives and work accordingly as he believes their performance indicates that they are moving in the right direction.
"What's the point of crying now? You can be emotional," he said. "There's nothing much we can do in this situation. I hope we learn from these narrow defeats, and this has been our narrowest loss in a final. I think we are progressing.
"It was a tough period for us when we lost three quick wickets. If we played better, we may have scored more runs. I think overall we were 10-15 runs short but if someone asked me at the start of the game what was my ideal score in a final, I would have said 170. So I think we made 4-5 runs short. We came back very well with the ball, which shows our character with the ball. I don't see a lot of negatives, except that we lost the game."
He didn't entirely put it on Bangladesh's inability to handle the pressure situation but feels that the momentum was with the bowling team going into the final two overs.
"I don't know if it is nerve or luck. Nine runs in one over isn't a lot but then you end up defending five runs off the last ball. You'd back a bowling team when they are defending 35 off the last two overs. It just didn't happen for us. The bowlers tried their best," he said.
Despite the defeat, he believes the experience will hold the side in good stead going ahead. "We had a good tournament. We could have won two more matches. We have to mind those small issues. This might be the start of a new chapter for Bangladesh.
"There are many positives. We are scoring consistently. Some of our bowlers did really well. We fielded really well too. We needed that extra edge, and hopefully we will get better."
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Things we learnt from the Nidahas Trophy
• Last updated on Mon, 19 Mar, 2018, 07:33 AM Shirshendu Roy in Colombo
Washington Sundar became only the third teenager to bag the Man of the Series award in a T20I series. © AFP
With the tri-series witnessing a thrilling finish to it, we reflect on the bright spots and the areas of concern for India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka going forward. While the champions India had reasons to smile after fielding a second string side, the hosts Sri Lanka have been left with plenty to ponder after failing to even reach the final ahead of Bangladesh, who had notched up a couple of memorable wins before agonisingly falling short in the tournament final.
India:
Powerplayer at just 18
Halfway through the Nidahas Trophy, Washington Sundar had already made everyone stand up and take notice of him for his extraordinary control through the powerplay overs. It was almost default that Rohit Sharma will throw the ball at him inside the first six overs of play and the teenager will accept it gleefully. Having opened the bowling in six games out of 11 in the last IPL, Washington had already developed a penchant for it and in the Nidahas Trophy, his economy of less than six with 46 dot balls in 13 overs bowled in the powerplay, only took his reputation further. The 18-year-old also became only the third teenager to bag the Man of the Series award in a T20I series. Washington would know that once the big boys return, his chances will diminish. However, his strong display in the tournament has done enough to create a recall value in the selectors' mind and whenever there's an opportunity next, Sundar might not have to queue up.
No panic stations in the middle-order yet
There's very little that openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan left for the batting line-up to do, and while they took turns to perform, there was just one game where both failed together, against Sri Lanka. However, both Manish Pandey (42 not out) and Dinesh Karthik (39 not out) seized the opportunity then, by stitching together a 68-run partnership and ensuring that they chased down the middling total of 152 comfortably. Although, Suresh Raina didn't play that one big substantial knock but he too has hit the ball well as seen in his brief cameos. India shouldn't be too worried about its middle-order batting, and Dinesh Karthik's whirlwind knock that sealed the final in their favour, adds more to reason to be relaxed.
India would have liked to experiment more though, by handing chances to Deepak Hooda, but the fact that Vijay Shankar got his first hit only in the final, and Washington not getting any batting practice at all, even the second-string batting lineup looks settled.
Tough initiation for Vijay Shankar but he's shown fight in him
Vijay Shankar was filling in the boots of Hardik Pandya in the capacity of an all-rounder, but there's a stark contrast between the two styles of play. While Hardik's X-factor is there for everyone to see, Vijay is more the one who could get lost in the crowd. But that counts for little as long as he does his job well. He started the tournament on a good note, bowling within himself in the first two games. He could have had more wickets though had catches been taken off his bowling. But on the flipside, he faced the brunt of Kusal Perera in one of the games too but he never looked like panicking. However, his toughest initiation was when he was promoted ahead of Karthik in the final. The four dots he played out in a row in the 18th over almost pushed India to a point of no return and the desperation was written all over his helpless face. But as Rohit Sharma spoke in the post-match press conference, these are lessons that will make him tougher as a cricketer.
Bangladesh:
Mushfiqur, Mahmudullah and maturity
Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah have been held culprits for long, for the heart-wrenching loss in Bengaluru to India. Although, it's been two years to that game but it was only when Bangladesh chased down 214 against Sri Lanka in Colombo that those ghosts were buried. Although the duo are no recent discoveries of Bangladesh, their maturity and consistency underlined two of their team's greatest wins in international cricket, and not just in T20Is. While Mushfiqur scored two unbeaten 70s, with one of them coming in the scintillating 214 chase, the lack of support during the other saw Bangladesh miss out against India. Although Mahmudullah didn't score as big as his wicketkeeper, his heroic 43 amid on-field tiffs and mindboggling drama, saw Bangladesh oust the hosts out of the tournament. Although Bangladesh went on to suffer a gutting loss on the final ball of the final, the duo's coming of age in the middle-order bodes well for Bangladesh.
Shakib and his balancing act
Without their star all-rounder and actual skipper Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh had already achieved their highest successful run chase in T20Is. However, there's no shame in accepting that they missed Shakib every bit, especially when it came to team balance. So the moment the 30-year-old arrived in Colombo, he replaced the young pacer Abu Hider. Shakib's addition didn't just add mystic powers to their middle orders but also got them four overs of assured bowling, something both Taskin Ahmed and Hider failed to provide in their attempts. Also when Mahmudullah led the team, he did so with a lot of grace, whereas Shakib's return as the skipper immediately injected a fresh sense of confidence in the body language. And even if it went unnecessarily overboard in that game against Sri Lanka, Shakib's presence meant that Bangladesh had that added belief all the time. He couldn't do much with the bat but with the ball, he returned figures of 1 for 9 and 1 for 28 in the two games he played.
There's indeed something about Shakib that spurs the team on.
Over-reliance on Tamim Iqbal is a topic of the past? No.
Tamim got starts in all games, including a couple of good scores too - 47 & 50. As he never went scouring for runs on the tour, it was this reassuring force that allowed Bangladesh to experiment with Liton Das as his fellow opener. If the move failed, Soumya Sarkar could move back at the top. However, it is always riding on Tamim's shoulders that Bangladesh played their calculated gamble of opening with Liton against Sri Lanka. It worked wonders but there was a quiet 47 off 29 balls scored by the left-hander himself.
Sri Lanka:
If one Kusal wasn't enough damage in Bangladesh, there were two in Sri Lanka.
On the previous tour when Sri Lanka had visited Bangladesh, Kusal Mendis had smashed the daylights out of Bangladesh's bowling with scores of 53 and 70. In his next T20 assignment, the Nidahas Trophy, he scored two more fifties, taking his tally to four fifties in six games. While Mendis had been promoted to handle the spinners in Bangladesh, he went on to do more than just that, ensuring he retained his spot at the top of the order. There were only a couple of occasions he failed in the tri-nation tournament, at the start against India and in the last game against Bangladesh. However, when that happened, the other Kusal - Kusal Janith Perera, put his hand up. While Perera ripped Shardul Thakur's opening over for 27 runs to score 66 that evening, he followed it up with a 61 this time, off just 40 balls against Bangladesh. When one hasn't done well, the other has ensured that the team is steadied through rough waters. And then there are days when both fire, like in the game against Bangladesh where they posted 214 in 20 overs.
Where are the pacers, Sri Lanka?
If the defeats against Bangladesh and the failure to make it to the final of a tournament being played at home forces them to go into a reflection of their performances, their pace bowlers will occupy a lot of space on that chart. Neither of Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera or Suranga Lakmal impressed, with Pradeep and Chameera going over 10 runs an over throughout the series. While Lakmal played only one game, it was baffling to see the vice-captain warming the benches. Both bowlers picked up just seven wickets together from four games and going ahead, Sri Lanka might just have a lot to worry about, or hope that this was just a passing phase.
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