SL FACE BANGLADESH WITH BERTH IN FINAL AT STAKE
Nidahas Trophy T20 Tri-series
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh know there’s no room for slip-ups when they take on each other in the Nidahas Trophy Twenty20 International Tri-series final round-robin game at the R. Premadasa Stadium today.
Not that either side did too much wrong in getting into such a tricky situation, it’s the nature of a short and quick tournament. At the halfway point of the series, all teams had a win apiece, and anything was possible.
Since then, however, India have powered on, beating Sri Lanka by six wickets, and following that up with a 17-run triumph over Bangladesh to go clear of the opponents.
Mushfiqur Rahim once again scored a fine half-century against India in the last game. Bangladesh were chasing a target of 177, seemingly a manageable task given that they had toppled 214 against Sri Lanka a few days earlier.
This time, however, he lacked support. Their bowlers didn’t fare too well earlier – Rubel Hossain’s two for 27 apart, none of the others were among the wickets – and Bangladesh will hope to put behind a bad day in the office.
As for Sri Lanka, they have been outstanding when on song. Admittedly, India did peg them back in their last outing, restricting them to 152 for nine before chasing it down in 17.3 overs. However, they have a few players in form who could trouble Bangladesh, the Kusals – Mendis and Perera – foremost among them. In the previous clash between these sides last week, Mendis and Perera both scored half centuries and put on an 85-run stand, helping Sri Lanka to 214 for six. Bangladesh survived that chase in a thriller, with Iqbal and Liton Das playing strong hands to go with Rahim’s 35-ball 72 not out. They might have to do it all over again, but Sri Lanka, without the suspended Dinesh Chandimal again, will be driven – it is, after all, a celebration of 70 years of their independence and making the final will make everyone at home happy.this clash might, therefore, largely depend on whether, and to what degree, the in-form players in each side come good.