Sabbir Hossain :Sri Lanka registered a thrilling three-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the second and final Twenty20 International match of the two-match Twenty20 series at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on Friday.By virtue of yesterday’s hard-fought victory, Sri Lanka clinched the Twenty20 series 2-0.Earlier, Sri Lanka composed a nail-biting two-run victory over the Tigers in the first Twenty20 International match at the same venue on February 12. Electing to bat first, Bangladesh scored 120 off 19.5 overs. In reply, Sri Lanka reached the winning spot in the last ball of the 20th over making 123 for the loss of seven wickets. Kumar Sangakkara and Thisara Perera played the key role to snatch the sensational victory over the home side. Kumar Sangakkara was the day’s most successful batsman. He hit 37 from 38 balls including one four and one six. He was caught at the short third man by Tamim Iqbal off Rubel Hossain. Perera remained unbeaten with 35 off 38 balls featuring three boundaries. Thisara Perera was adjudged the Man of the Match for his match-winning innings. Opener Kaushal Perera and Sachitra Senanayake scored 21 and 12 runs (not out) respectively. Bangladeshi bowlers earned respect from the Sri Lankan batsmen by their tight bowling and entertained the spectators by their superb effort. Skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza bagged two wickets in the space of 29 runs, while Shakib Al Hasan, Arafat Sunny, Mahmudullah Riyad and Rubel Hossain took one wicket each for eight, eight, 16 and 34 runs respectively.Earlier, Bangladesh made a meagre start losing three wickets for 35 runs. Later, Bangladesh batsmen failed to make any notable partnership. Bangladesh lost their batsmen in regular intervals.Debutante Sabbir Rahman was the most successful batsman for the hosts who notched up 26 from 36 balls hitting two fours. Sabbir, the fourth down batsman of the home side was caught at the deep point by Nuwan Kulasekara off Lasith Malinga when Bangladesh’s innings came to an end. Wicketkeeper-batsman Anamul Haque was the other notable batsman for Bangladesh who made 24 off 17 balls amid two sixes and two fours. Anamul Haque was caught at the deep midwicket by Kaushal Perera off Sachitra Senanayake when Bangladesh’s score was 41 for the loss of four wickets. Besides, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Shakib Al Hasan added 17 and 12 runs to the Bangladesh total. Pacer Lasith Malinga played the key role in wrecking Bangladesh innings grabbing three wickets at the cost of 20 runs with a good support from Sachitra Senanayake and Nuwan Kulasekara, who chipped in with two wickets each instead of 11 and 32 runs respectively. Besides, Ajantha Mendis and Tillakaratne Dilshan took one wicket each for 21 and 23 runs respectively.
