T20 World Cup, SL vs BAN as it happened: Asalanka, Rajapaksa power Sri Lanka to 5-wicket win

Sri Lanka in by 5 wickets!

A splendid partnership between Asalanka (80* off 49) and Rajapaksa took Bangladesh out of the game.

SL 165/5 after 18.2 overs: OUT! Rajapaksa is clean bowled for 53 off 31. Nasum gets the wicket. Sri Lanka need 7 off 10.

SL 163/4 after 18 overs: Fifty for Rajapaksa! A 28-ball half-century for the left-hander. Sri Lanka were in trouble when he walked in but he has delivered a superb knock on his birthday.

SL 159/4 after 17 overs: SIX! Now Asalanka goes after Shakib and clears the rope. Sri Lanka are making it look easy. They need 13 off 18.

SL 148/4 after 16 overs: 6, 6, 4, 1, 1, 4! Rajapaksa turns the match on its head! Saifuddin concedes 22 runs in the over and Bangladesh are under the pump. Sri Lanka need 24 off 24.

SL 126/4 after 15 overs: Liton Das drops another catch! Oh dear, Bangladesh cannot afford to make such mistakes. Asalanka gets the reprieve this time as his mistimed pull lands safely through Das’s hands. Mustafizur the unlucky bowler. Sri Lanka need 46 off 30.

SL 121/4 after 14 overs: Two sixes! Asalanka is turning it on in Sharjah! The left-hander decides to go after Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah and gets the big over his team needed. Sri Lanka need 51 off 36.

SL 105/4 after 13 overs: Fifty for Asalanka! He gets there in 32 balls. The left-hander has held the Sri Lankan innings together and is building a crucial partnership with Rajapaksa. That was an action-packed over from Hossain. Rajapaksa hit him for a six and a four before Das dropped a straightforward catch at deep backward square-leg and conceded another four.

SL 85/4 after 11 overs: Mahedi bowls one down leg to Asalanka and goes up in appeal. Bangladesh go for the review and the replays show there was no bat involved.

SL 79/4 after 9.4 overs: OUT! Hasaranga doesn’t stay for long as Saifuddin strikes. The right-hander went for a big one but found the fielder at deep mid-wicket. The Sri Lankan innings is collapsing and Bangladesh are pumped. Sri Lanka need 93 off 62.

SL 71/3 after 8.4 overs: OUT! Shakib has two wickets in one over! Avishka departs for a three-ball duck and Sri Lanka are in trouble. Hasaranga is the new batter.

SL 71/2 after 8.1 overs: OUT! Shakib returns to the attack and cleans up Nissanka (24 off 21). Important breakthrough for Bangladesh. Avishka Fernando is the new batter.

SL 71/1 after 8 overs: Good over from Mahedi, just four singles from it. Sri Lanka need 101 off 72. Asalanka is on 44 off 25 and holds the key for Shanaka and Co.

SL 67/0 after 7 overs: Mustafizur joins the attack and bowls an expensive first over. Asalanka with a classy drive for four before getting a thick edge for another four.

SL 54/1 after 6 overs: Bangladesh were 41/1 at this stage. What a finish to the powerplay! A four and six for Asalanka and he has raced to 32 (18) to put Sri Lanka in the driver’s seat.

SL 39/1 after 5 overs: A tidy over from Shakib. Bangladesh will finish with 5 out of 6 overs in the powerplay bowled by spinners. Mahedi to bowl 6th.

SL 34/1 after 4 overs: A boundary for Sri Lanka again and Asalanka has quickly changed the mood in the middle. Saifuddin, first use of pace from BAN, strays on the pad and is put away past fine leg.

SL 26/1 after 3 overs: Big over for Sri Lanka! Nasum’s 2nd over proves to be a gamble for Bangladesh. Perera missed out but Asalanka doesn’t, making the most of the match-up to hit two sixes. Smart batting by SL.

SL 10/1 after 2 overs: A misfield in the deep gives Asalanka a bonus boundary. Sloppy from Shakib of all people.

SL 4/1 after 1 overs: Mahedi from the other end, all spin from Bangladesh here in contrast to SL.

SL 2/1 after 0.4 overs: What a start for Bangladesh! Nasum Ahmed given the first over, and his left-arm spin does the trick. Kusal Perera goes for a slog sweep, the right idea given the match-up. But wrong execution.

Nasum will start off with his left-arm spin. Perera and Nissanka in the middle for Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka need 172 runs to win, a required rate of 8.60 runs per over.

BAN score 171/4 (20) after asked to bat first: Rahim, in a chat, says that the pitch has played better today than it did in the IPL that he followed. Reckons this is still a good score though and credits Naim too for batting through the first part of the innings and allowing him to finish it off.

BAN 171/4 after 20 overs: SUPER FINISH FOR TIGERS! A four for Mahmudullah who has played a good cameo at the end to finish on 10 off 5 balls. Crunched past deep point. And then off the last ball, a delightful scoop over the keeper’s head by Rahim who finishes on 57* (37) for one of his best T20 knocks. 12 runs from the last over and it is a great finish for Bangladesh.

Correction: BAN 159/4 after 19 overs. Chameera to bowl the last over.

BAN 159/4 after 19 overs: Oh dear, not the first iffy moment involving Lahiru Kumara today as he bowls a horrible beamer to Rahim. No ball, free hit doesn’t prove costly. The bowler apologised immediately as well. Mahmudullah finishes that over with a brilliant down the ground for four.

BAN 150/4 after 18.3 overs: A run out, Afif is the batter dismissed. The softest run out you are likely to see this tournament. Ball hits the pad, batter wanders down a bit, bowler underarms at the stumps. Can Sri Lanka pull things back in the last couple of overs?

Half century! Mushfiqur Rahim did not have the best of time in Oman during Round 1 but he has come up with a gem of an innings in Sharjah today. A 32-ball fifty. 150 also comes up for Bangladesh.

BAN 149/3 after 18 overs: Chameera comes back and does slightly better given the momentum of the innings, by conceding 9 runs in the over. Still good for Bangladesh, mind you. A four over point for Rahim who is now on 49.

Over 14: 11 runs 

Over 15: 11 runs 

Over 16: 11 runs 

Over 17: 11 runs

BAN 140/3 after 17 overs: That’s the 4th 11-run over in a row! 44 in the last 4 for Bangladesh as Binura concedes a four first to Rahim and then to the new batter in Afif.

BAN 129/3 after 16.1 overs: OUT! Just as Bangladesh were starting to put together a string of big overs, the well-set Naim is out for 62. Fernando gets the wicket. Hits the deck hard, gets a caught and bowled as Naim mistimes a pull. A good innings by the Bangladesh opener.

BAN 129/2 after 16 overs: Another 11-run over for Bangladesh who are well on track for 160. Dasun comes on, a four past short third by Naim. It does feel like a better pitch than the ones we saw in IPL (Kohli called it too in the pre-match PC yesterday) but 160 will be a score Bangladesh will potentially be delighted with.

Overs 7-15: 77/1 for Bangladesh. Brilliant middle over phase for the Tigers.

BAN 118/2 after 15 overs: Hasaranga returns and is welcomed back by two fours by Rahim who is playing a little gem. Just three singles after that in the over as the spinner finishes alright. A 11-run over will do nicely for Bangladesh thought.

BAN 107/2 after 14 overs: Fifty for Mohammad Naim! The left-hander opened the innings for Bangladesh and is playing an important knock. He gets his half-century with a boundary straight over off Lahiru Kumara. Naim then ends the over with a cracking pull for four.

BAN 96/2 after 13 overs: Shot! Mushfiqur hits another six! This time Fernando drops one short and the right-hander pulls it over the fence.

BAN 87/2 after 12 overs: Skipper Shanaka brings himself into the attack and bowls a good over, just four runs come from it.

BAN 83/2 after 11 overs: SIX! First maximum of the match and it comes from Mushfiqur’s bat. Hasaranga tossed it up and the right-hander swept it over the short boundary.

BAN 65/2 after 9 overs: Hasaranga joins the attack and concedes seven runs in his first over. He’s a key bowler for Sri Lanka and will need to deliver a good spell here. Bangladesh have Naim and Mushfiqur at the crease now.

BAN 56/2 after 7.4 overs: OUT! Karunaratne gets the big wicket of Shakib! The left-hander was looking good but is clean bowled.

BAN 55/1 after 7 overs: Poor start from Asalanka. Shakib picks up two fours and Naim adds another. Classy strokes from the Bangladesh batters in that over.

BAN 40/1 after 5.5 overs: OUT! Liton Das gets caught at mid-off and Lahiru Kumara gets the wicket. The two players then get into a heated argument and are separated by the umpires and other players. That did not look good.

BAN 38/0 after 5 overs: Another expensive over from Chameera. This time Liton hits a square cut for four. He’s bowling with pace but has been erratic.

BAN 29/0 after 4 overs: Kumara bangs one in and Naim takes his front leg out of the way to pull it over mid-on for four. The right-arm pacer ends the over by collecting the ball in his follow through and throwing it just over Naim’s head. That was dangerous.

BAN 21/0 after 3 overs: Expensive start from Chameera. The right-arm pacer bowls consecutive no balls and Naim picks up a two and a four off the free hits.

BAN 9/0 after 2 overs: Fernando drifts onto the pads and Das clips it past short-fine for four. Seven runs come from the left-arm pacer’s first over.

BAN 2/0 after 1 over: Karunaratne with a tidy start. The right-arm pacer keeps a tight line and mixes his length up well. Bangladesh have Liton Das and Mohammad Naim at the crease.

3.30 pm: The national anthems are done and we’re ready for play in Sharjah. Here we go!

Playing XIs:

Bangladesh: Mohammad Naim, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah (c), Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan (w), Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.

Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera (w), Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando, Lahiru Kumara.

Toss:

Dasun Shanaka has won the toss and Sri Lanka will bowl first.

T20 World Cup: We’ve shown what we can do, teams will have close look at us, says SL captain Shanaka

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Super 12 Group 1 match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Sharjah.