Dubai: Tail-ender Asitha Fernando showed excellent self-restraint compelled to hit two match-characterizing limits that took Sri Lanka to the Super Fours of the Asia Cup with an undeniably exhilarating two-wicket triumph over severe opponents Bangladesh here on Thursday.
Pursuing an objective of 184, Sri Lanka won with a let-down saved for the last over when of-spinner Mahedi Hasan exceeded while bowling the third conveyance cutting down draperies on the game.
While Kusal Mendis (60 off 37 balls) and captain Dasun Shanaka (45 off 33 balls) set up the triumph, it could never have been conceivable without Fernando’s splendid personality.
Debutant Fernando previously hit the last bundle of the nineteenth over by Ebadot Hossain (3/51 of every 4 overs) for a limit to bring the condition down to eight runs in one over.
With Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan having proactively depleted Mustafizur Rahaman’s standard of overs, he had no choice except to give unpracticed Mahedi the ball, and Fernando trudge cleared his second conveyance to seal the destiny of the game, which might have in any case had a place with
Ibadat.
To focus on it, the Sri Lankans did the ‘Nagin Dance’ protected by the Bangladeshi cricketers as the pre-match development has been everything except sober.
Ibadat, the energetic speedster, who likewise is a Bangladesh Air Force man, bowled a decent first spell of two overs in which he bowled three short balls that represented three Lankan hitters. His speed bowling accomplice Taskin Ahmed likewise utilized the guard to dispose of the fourth Sri Lankan player in Bhanuka Rajapaksa.
It just so happens, Sri Lankan captain Shanaka had pronounced that Bangladesh just had two elite bowlers in resistance captain Shakib Al Hasan and shaper ace Mustafizur Rahaman, something that ‘Tigers’ supervisor Khaled Mahmud Sujon had taken an exemption for.
Notwithstanding, Ebadot and Taskin with their additional speed and skip were on a mission to disprove the Lankans before Shanaka was on a mission to show what him can do as a seer.