Tigers' pacers wayward

Bangladesh bowled 22.5 overs in their second Nidahas Trophy tri-nation T20I match against hosts Sri Lanka yesterday and those 17 extras proved to be costly as the home side posted their highest T20I total of 214 for six against the Tigers.

The new-look Lankans had scored their previous best score against Bangladesh only a month ago in Sylhet, when they piled up 210 for four, and it was only because of the extras that they went past the 200-mark, let alone that total.

However, there were more concerns from the Bangladesh bowlers aside from the extras as they were inconsistent with their line and length and allowed the Sri Lankan batsmen to get the momentum right from the start.

The home side scored 70 runs in the Powerplay courtesy of some blistering strikes from Kusal Mendis and Danushka Gunathilaka which set the tone for a huge total.

Left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman gave away three wides and bowled a beamer which was smashed for six by Jeevan Mendis in the final over. Another pacer, Taskin Ahmed, bowled two wides, one of which went past wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim for four and added five runs to the scoreboard without the ball being counted.

Soumya Sarkar, the sixth among seven bowlers used by skipper Mahmudullah Riyad, bowled two wides off his only over which leaked away 11 runs.

Those 17 extras were actually bonuses for the Lankan batsman and not only took them past the 200-mark but added extra pressure on the fielders as well.

Taskin, who had said the day before the game that he would be looking to bowl with a plan, showed no strategy, did not bowl in accordance with set-up of the fielders and remained wayward as he gave away 33 runs from his first two overs.

He ended up giving away 40 runs from three overs while claiming only the wicket of Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal in the latter stages of the game.

Rubel Hossain was the only Bangladeshi pacer who showed some sort of stability with his line and length. He also bowled with a pace, clocking a 145 km delivery at one point, which matched his aggression.

Despite that, the pacer conceded the second-highest amount of runs after Mustafizur, who had given away 48 but for the exchange of three wickets.

Perhaps the only bright light among the Bangladesh batsmen yesterday was off-spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz. The youngster displayed a lot of maturity and adaptability. He managed to pull the run rate down after being introduced into the attack just after the Powerplay as the hosts could add just 16 runs off the next three overs with left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam giving away just eight runs in the eighth over of the innings.

However, despite all their efforts Sri Lanka came back and scored 64 runs off the last five overs to really hurt the Tigers.