As it happened - Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, Men's T20 World Cup, Super 12s

It's over. That's Sri Lanka's highest successful chase in the T20 World Cup. And their third-highest successful chase ever. Charith Asalanka was incredible - 80 off 49 from No. 3, which was Sri Lanka's worst batting position coming into the tournament. He's certainly made it his own, and showed that he can both attack inside the Powerplay, and accumulate through the middle overs.

Wasn't a particularly well-fancied T20 player before this tournament, but like so many of the Sri Lanka players, seems to have taken substantial strides over the past few months.

As the graph above shows, those partnerships with Pathum Nissanka, and especially the one with Rajapakse, were the ones that really won Sri Lanka the match.

It was just the innings Sri Lanka needed after losing three quick wickets. He hasn't been the most consistent batter, but there's no doubting the quality of this knock.

He's out soon after, making room, trying to cut Nasum Ahmed. But he's done his job.

Mahmudullah had saved two Shakib overs and two Mustafizur overs for the last four. But by the time Shakib bowled the 17th, Sri Lanka were waaay ahead of the game (thanks largely to the over that preceded). Should they have been more proactive with their wicket-takers?

What an over for Sri Lanka! The first one from Saifuddin is a cutter on the stumps, which somehow, Rajapakse launches hiiiigh over fine leg. The next is a wider offcutter, and Rajapakse targets that short side again and launches it into the stands. The third ball is quick and outside off stump, and Rajapakse throws his hands at it and gets it fine of third man for four. Then a couple of singles. And to finish the over, a four creamed over extra cover. Twenty two runs from that over. And now, suddenly, Bangladesh need a miracle.

This time it's Asalanka. The batter had mis-hit one to third man, aerially. It hung in the air long enough for Liton to get close to it and into a reasonable position. But he takes his eyes off it in the last second and spills it. How costly will those drops be?

If Mushfiqur Rahim set a standard for smart batting on an asymmetric ground, Asalanka has arguably surpassed him. He hits two sixes off that Mahmudullah over - both shots targeting the short side (the first of those sixes would have cleared the long on boundary at most grounds though). Sri Lanka aren't out of this yet.

He'd hit Afif Hossain inside-out for six first ball of the over, and he tried to slog sweep him over deep square leg as well. He doesn't connect very well, though, and Liton Das should easily have got under it at the deep square boundary. Instead, he misjudges it, and palms it on toward the boundary for four.

Rajapaksa gets a life on 14. (He'd been dropped on 18 by Namibia in the first game of the tournament too.)

Here's that over:

He's been used as a floating batter already in this World Cup, but where he helped get Sri Lanka out of jail against Ireland, he's been far less effective here. He edges a four off Saifuddin, but when he waltzes down the track to try and slam him over long on, mis-hits it and holes out. Not a great match for Sri Lanka's star player.

Bangladesh might have been under-achievers at T20 World Cups, but Shakib is not. When he started this match, he was on 39 T20 World Cup wickets, tied for top spot with Shahid Afridi. He's ahead by two now (even the graphic below is already out of date.)

It was always going to happen sometime. Shakib slows one up outside the off stump, Pathum Nissanka misses with a big sweep, and the ball goes on with the arm to hit off stump. Bangladesh desperately needed that breakthrough.

As I'm typing that, he gets arguably Sri Lanka's form batter as well, and suddenly 172 looks a long way away. Avishka Fernando was facing just his third ball, but let's another floated, dipping ball from Shakib wriggle through his defences, as he attempts to poke it to leg, and is bowled as well. Is Bangladesh's superstar making the definitive plays of the match?

What an over.

When they lost their most experienced batter in the first over, things weren't looking good. But Asalanka and Nissanka have salvaged the Powerplay with some intelligent hitting. They took calculated risks, and found singles in between. They've set Sri Lanka up nicely for the middle overs, where they have tended to be better with the bat than in the Powerplay.

That's how the last over, bowled by Mahedi, went. The six was a high strike down the ground by an advancing Nissanka.

With Shakib just having sent down his first over, and Mahedi his second, Bangladesh have sent down five spin overs in their first six. I suspect this has to do with match-ups and perceived Sri Lanka weaknesses than anything else. Sri Lanka's record against spin recently is pretty woeful.

Did he hear me badmouthing him? Cuz damn, he's suddenly erupted in that third over. He ran down the track at Nasum, and smacked him over long off for six. Later in the over, he got low and pounded him high over deep square leg - over the long side of the ground. Superb hitting, and Sri Lanka have some momentum, thanks to that 16-run over.

One of Sri Lanka's major weaknesses in this tournament is their top three, and they've now ended up in a situation which they will least want to be in. They are in the Powerplay, chasing a substantial total, with two batters not known for their aggression at the crease. In T20s (including domestic cricket), Pathum Nissanka strikes at only 128. Charith Asalanka is even less explosive at 121. Between them they have nine T20 fifties.

Nasum Ahmed strikes straight away, in his first World Cup game. Sri Lanka desperately needed a score from Kusal Perera to get them on track for this target, but he plays a big sweep, and Nasum sneaks one past his bat to uproot his off stump. The bowler is ecstatic. Bangladesh know how big that is. Terrific first over too - only four off it.

Bangladesh find an excellent finish to their innings through their two experienced batters. Mahmudullah creamed a four through cover point when Chameera missed his length with the attempted yorker. Mushfiq, facing the last ball, set himself up for the over-the-shoulder scoop and connected nicely. Mushfiq finishes on 57 not out off 37, but more importantly, Bangladesh have a total that will seriously test a fragile Sri Lanka batting order. They need 172 to win.

Strong square of the wicket - but this is maybe slightly misleading. He's been targeting the short (57 metre) side of the ground, by moving around the crease. Excellent use of conditions.

Pretty sharp work from Kumara. Afif hit the ball back at him - he collected it in his follow through as the batters tried to scamper through, and hit the stumps direct. Easy decision. Bangladesh now have Mahmudullah at the crease, though.

Off just 32 balls. He's played beeeeautifully. I don't know if it's the power of the Nagin dance, but he seems to love playing Sri Lanka in this format too. Three of his four T20I fifties are against Sri Lanka. All up, he's hit 287 runs (and counting) at a strike rate of 151 against them.

He's the tallest of Sri Lanka's bowlers, but also the slowest and least experienced. Shanaka makes the surprise decision to bring him on for the 17th over ahead of the three more battle-hardened seamers.

The captain obviously knows something we don't, because Binura makes the breakthrough straight away. He bangs one into the pitch outside off stump, and Naim top edges it, trying to club it. It's an easy caught and bowled for Binura, who has to hop across a few of the other pitches on the square to complete the dismissal.

End of a 73-run stand.

Mushfiqur manoeuvres himself to the offside and cracks Hasaranga's first two balls to leg for successive boundaries. Hasaranga leaks another 11 and Bangladesh are beautifully set for their final five overs, at 118 for 2.

Naim launches Kumara down the ground, and although the fielder down there puts in a dive, can't intercept that ball. He's got to the milestone off 44 balls. He's been especially strong through midwicket.

Bangladesh's best partnership yet is the ongoing one between Mushfiq and Naim. Mushfiq has been the aggressor, hitting two sixes - both from slog sweeps (one against Hasaranga and one against Binura Fernando). Naim nearing his half century.

Hasaranga and Chameera came into this tournament easily Sri Lanka's best bowlers, and much was expected of them in the Super 12.

So far today, though, Bangladesh have played them pretty well. After 11 overs, Chameera's two overs have gone for 21, and Hasaranga's for 18 - Mushfiqur Rahim having lifted him into the deep midwicket stands last over.

Shakib had had a fine start to his innings, hitting the offspin of Charith Asalanka beautifully over cover. But Karunaratne gets him in the next over - uprooting his leg stump. It was a back of a length ball, and Shakib was trying to back away, hoping to nurdle him to leg. But he misses, and the ball hits the top of leg.

Hasaranga into the attack now - how will Bangladesh fair against him?

I suspect we're going to hear more about this from the match referee. Kumara gets Liton Das' wicket off the fifth ball of the sixth over, when Liton holed out to mid off. But Kumara gets right in his face, and there's an ugly confrontation.

This isn't the first time these teams have had aggro - the Nidahas Trophy had immature spillovers too. But that was in 2018 - you'd have thought they'd have got over it.

Kumara had thrown the ball at Naim in his previous over - but that was when Naim was out of his ground, and Kumara was in his follow through. Kumara didn't apologise at the time, despite the ball having passed Naim at around head height.

Both Bangladesh's batters are finding boundaries square of the wicket. Matt Roller tells me it's 57 metres on one side and 73 on the other. Where Sri Lanka's quicks had been used to taking wickets at the top, their pace hasn't really troubled the Bangladesh batters on a good batting track.

Bangladesh get their first good over of the innings, when Dushmantha Chameera oversteps twice in two balls, and Mohammad Naim whips a four through midwicket off the second of those free hits. Twelve runs off that over.

These two teams have two of the best national anthems going around btw (Amar Sonar Bangla a personal favourite). and Mahmudullah's emotions spilled over during the song. Here's my friend Bharat Sundaresan on the grace he's shown so far as leader, in what has been a tough tournament for Bangladesh so far.

Karunaratne's added a few kph to his pace at this tournament too, and he's delivered a good first over, mainly length and back of a length, and on the stumps. Liton and Naim can't do a lot with that.

Matt Roller, our reporter at the ground, has this to add. It's possible that the spinners might find the one short boundary tough - is this why Sri Lanka are going in so seam-heavy?

Shanaka wins the toss, and Sri Lanka bowl first. They've made a bit of a bold change too. They were forced to leave mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana out, as Theekshana was injured. But instead of replacing him with spinner Akila Dananjaya, they've brought in the left-arm swing of Binura Fernando, meaning they have three frontline seam bowlers, plus Chamika Karunaratne. The only frontline spin option is Wanindu Hasaranga.(Charith Asalanka can send some spin overs down too.)

Bangladesh, meanwhile, have gone the other way. They've bolstered their spin attack. Instead of their quickest bowler Taskin Ahmed, they've brought in the left-arm spin of Nasum Ahmed. I suspect this is down to Sri Lanka's perceived weakness against spin - something South Africa exploited not so long ago. Will it work as well for Bangladesh?