Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka First T20 Preview: Series Opener Promises to be a Challenging Contest For Both Teams
Sri Lanka will hope to carry forward the momentum from the Test and One-day Tri-series victory to end their T20 drought.
Bangladesh will play against Sri Lanka in their first Twenty20 International in the two-match series starting from February 15. The first T20 between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will begin from 04.30 p.m. IST, at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka. Both, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be looking to gain a lead in the first match of the T20 series.
When the Bangladesh Cricket Team toured Sri Lanka last year, they had put up one of their best performances in away tours. The Test series, ODIs and T20Is were all shared 1-1, and Bangladesh matched Sri Lanka in every department. Now when Bangladesh is hosting Sri Lanka, things have turned around. Sri Lanka has managed to win the tri-nation series, and also outplayed the Bangladesh team in the Test series. The Sri Lankan team will now be eyeing to seal the T20 series that begins from Thursday.
Bangladesh
The T20 format can change things around for Bangladesh, but the home team is plagued by injuries. Former captain Mushfiqur Rahim and opener Tamim Iqbal are doubtful for the opening Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka. Batsman Mohammad Mithun has been added to the squad as a cover. What goes against the home team is the fact that they are without their talisman Shakib Al Hasan. In the tour last year in Sri Lanka, Shakib had played a crucial role in Bangladesh's victory. Bangladesh will be hoping that the youngsters it has introduced in the squad fire and replicate their T20 success from Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) into international cricket.Bangladesh has played only two T20s in the past four months. They lost their last T20 to South Africa by 83 runs.
Sri Lanka
Having won the Test and ODI Tri-series, Sri Lanka will be a strong favorite in the T20 series. But then, Sri Lanka's T20 record in past ten months has been abysmal. They have lost last eight of their T20 encounters and lost them comprehensively. The Absence of Lasith Malinga will force Sri Lanka to come -up with new strategy to contain the hosts. The batting has also not performed consistently especially the top order.
The Pitch
The Pitch in Mirpur is likely to be slow but will still hold good for batting. The weather in Dhaka is expected to be moderate, with temperatures set to be in the mid 20-degrees range. No rain is forecast and we have a complete game in hand.
Bangladesh's Likely XI
1 Tamim Iqbal/Mohammad Mithun, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Afif Hossain, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Sabbir Rahman, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Ariful Haque, 8 Mohammad Saifuddin, 9 Mahedi Hasan/Nazmul Islam, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Rubel Hossain.
Sri Lanka's Likely XI
1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Danushka Gunathilaka, 5 Dinesh Chandimal (capt), 6 Thisara Perera, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Akila Dananjaya, 9 Isuru Udana, 10. Amila Aponso, 11 Shehan Madushanka.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 15, 2018 03:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).