Bangladesh storm into final-5 wickets win over sri lanka

[Al-zakir]

Wed, Jan 14th, 2009 6:35 pm BdST


Dhaka, Jan 14 (bdnews24.com) – Shakib Al Hasan, with an unbeaten 92, powered Bangladesh to the Tri-Nation Cup final with a short, sharp five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in a fog-curtailed group final match on Wednesday.

Naeem Islam came down the wicket against Ajantha Mendis to smack the sensational spinner for six over the long-on as Bangladesh raced to 151 for five in 23.4 overs after bundling Sri Lanka out for 147 in 30.3 overs at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

The hosts face the Lankans again in the final on Friday at the same venue.

To qualify for the final, Bangladesh needed to reach their target in 24.5 overs in the 31-over-a-side affair, cut short due to dense fog that ate up three hours of morning play.

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were on five points each including one bonus, at the end of Wednesday's nail-biting play, putting Zimbabwe behind them with four points.

The Tigers had a nerve-wracking start, before their triumph, as opener Junaed Siddique, without facing a single ball, fell short of the crease after a misunderstanding with Tamim Iqbal, who was also run out for nine leaving Bangladesh teetering at 11 for three in 3.5 overs.

But Mohammad Ashraful and Shakib turned the match around putting on 91 runs for the fourth wicket partnership before the Bangladesh captain left the side at 102 for four in 18.5 balls.

With Bangladesh needing 46 runs in 36 balls, Ashraful gave way to hook Nuwan Kulasekara to Sanath Jayasuriya, who ran across the fine leg to take a fine one-handed catch. Ashraful struck an uncharacteristic 26 off 41 balls that included just one four.

The departure of Ashraful flamed the fans' fears again, but Shakib cut a path of destruction from the word go clearing the Tigers' way.

Shakib paired a brief 24-run partnership with Roqibul Hasan (3 off 6 balls) for the fifth wicket with the top-scorer clubbing Sri Lankan pacer Kulasekara for a four and a six in the 21st over.

Bangladesh picked up another four runs in the 21st to close the gap, with the hosts needing just 22 runs in 23 balls, but Ajantha Mendis removed Roqibul to concede just one run in the next over, widening the gap again.

Shakib picked up the pace again with 10 runs, including two fours, off Muttiah Muralitharan, with Bangladesh needing just a nail-biting 11 runs from 11 balls in the 25th over.

Naeem and Shakib changed their end trice to make four runs in three balls before Naeem struck four and six in a row to give the home crowd a reason to go wild at the big bowl.

Naeem remained unbeaten on 12 off six balls, with one six and one four, while Shakib, named man of the match, smacked 10 fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 69-ball knock.

Earlier, winning the toss in foggy conditions, Ashraful gave the new ball to Mashrafee Bin Mortaza, who didn't let the Bangladesh captain down, providing a blitz start.

The pacer trapped Upul Tharanga for a three-ball duck in the very third delivery of the day and then bowled Kumar Sangakkara for a five-ball duck in his second over leaving Sri Lanka on four for two in 2.2 overs.

But, new ball partner Mahbubul Alam struggled to find line and length, allowing Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene to pull back from the damage with a defiant 71 runs for the third wicket.

Off-spinner Naeem, who replaced debutant pacer Rubel Hossain, removed Jayawardene for a 44-ball 28, leaving Sri Lanka at 75 for three and Mashrafee dismissed Jayasuriya in his second spell to return three for 25 in his seven overs.

Jayasuriya, dropped on 28 by Roqibul off Mashrafee, quickfired 54 off 64 balls studded with seven fours. But Jehan Mubarak was the fifth batsman out for 10, triggering a collapse in the tail.

Rubel, conceding 12 runs in his first two-over spell, was brought in again to claim his debut wicket off Angelo Mathews, who gave a catch to Mashrafee for a five-ball two.

Mahbubul Alam inside-edged Chamara Kapugedera for a 30-ball 28, while Rubel cleaned up the tail dismissing Nuwan Kulasekara (5), Thilan Thushara (o) and Ajantha Mendis (0) in a row to return four for 33.

bdnews24.com/ar/wz/rah/1835 hours


Bangladesh storm into final :: Sport :: bdnews24.com ::