Bangladesh put up 133-8 vs UAE in Asia Cup

Mustafizur proved to be impossible to score off, and he was backed up well by the rest of the Bangladesh bowlers.

Sri Lanka skipper Lasith Malinga celebrates after dismissing United Arab Emirates Mohammad Naveed during their Asia Cup T20 match in Mirpur on Thursday.

Once again the UAE would of fancied their chances heading into the chase. In what was Pakistan’s first match of the tournament it was India who won the toss and elected field first. But one thing we are wary about when it comes to Sri Lanka is that they will always punch above their weight. That’s what I look to do and when there is any window to attack I will attack irrespective of the wicket.

Buoyed by two back-to-back wins in the Asia Cup, India will aim to extend their winning streak when they take on a depleted Sri Lanka in their third Twenty20 worldwide at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium here on Tuesday. If Negi does get a chance, he will want to make it count. He was out for 32 off 34 balls, a largely second-fiddle innings.

The expected playing eleven for Bangladesh for the match is- Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah, Mashfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Nurul Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza(C), Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain.

Man-of-the-match Sabbir Rahman, who scored a 54-ball 80 for Bangladesh, said, “It was a good opportunity to come in early”.

Dinesh Chandimal (37) and Shehan Jayasuriya’s (26) partnership of 56 appeared to have Sri Lanka in command, the former going for a run a ball before Mahmudullah (1-14) got him to reverse sweep to deep point. They kept going right up to the last ball, but they fell short on 124-8 from their 20 overs to fall to a disappointing loss to Bangladesh. It could be much easier if UAE batsmen have played sensibly. Pakistan viewers can also log onto PTV Sports for services of the match. In what was their 100th T20 worldwide, the first team to play this many games, they needed a record 114-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal to take them home after their top order failed to fire once again. “But I am happy with the result against UAE, though”, said Malinga, who led from the front with a four wicket haul in a low-scoring game. While India’s current team is well-settled, their last two league matches against Sri Lanka and UAE will give them the ideal chance to test out their bench strength.