Asia Cup: Litton hails pacers Mustafizur, Taskin after win; SL counterpart Asalanka rues not capitalising on final two overs

Dubai [UAE], September 21 (ANI): Following the side’s win over Sri Lanka in the first Super Four Asia Cup clash, Bangladesh skipper Litton Das hailed pacers Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed for “changing the game” in the final two overs.

Dasun Shanaka’s blitz went in vain as two well-compiled half-centuries from Saif Hassan and Towhid Hridoy helped Bangladesh secure a four-wicket win with one ball to go against Sri Lanka to start the Super Four stage with a nail-biting thriller. At the end of 18 overs, Sri Lanka was at 153/4, with Shanaka going full throttle on the bowlers. Mustafizur’s next over put the brakes on the SL innings, as he took three wickets and gave away just five runs. In the final over, Taskin conceded 10 runs, a four and six from Shanaka, preventing a massive dent to Bangladesh’s chances while chasing.

Speaking after the match, Litton said during the post-match presentation, “We know how dangerous Mustafizur is. Mustafizur and Taskin, in the last two overs, changed the game. It looked like 190, and they kept it down. Taskin bowled a really good (final) over. I know Saif can win games for Bangladesh. We all knew he was going to be a good player in the UAE. We have to come again, new venue, new team, and we have to play our A game (against India on September 24).

SL skipper Charith Asalanka said that the game was terrific and it was not enough for Sri Lanka despite the fact they held their nerves well.

“Pleased about our batting a little bit, we could have done better in the last 2 overs. We were 10-15 runs short. Dasun Shanaka batted really well, we pushed him to five, and he did a really good job. He hit a big six, and the dressing room was happy because it was almost 170, that’s the mark we wanted,” he concluded.

Coming to the match, Bangladesh opted to bowl first after winning the toss. A quickfire 44-run stand started things off for SL, with Pathum Nissanka scoring 22 in 15 balls, with three fours and a six. Mendis fell soon, for 34 in 25 balls, with a four and three sixes. SL was reduced to 97/4 in 13.4 overs, with Kamil Mishara and Kusal Perera back in the hut. From there, Dasun Shanaka took charge with the skipper Charith Asalanka (21 in 12 balls, with a four and a six), taking SL to 168/7 in their 20 overs.

Besides Mustafizur Rahman (3/20 in four overs), Mahedi Hasan (two wickets) and Taskin Ahmed (one wicket) were also among the wickets.During the run-chase, Bangladesh lost Tanzid Hasan early, then a 59-run stand between Litton and Saif Hassan stabilised the innings. Another 54-run stand for the third-wicket followed between Saif, who made 61 in 45 balls, with two fours and four sixes and Towhid Hridoy (58 in 37 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes). Towards the end, Bangladesh fell into a tricky spot, from 159/3 to 168/6 in 19.4 overs, but Shamim Hossain (14*) and Nasum Ahmed (1*) took Bangla Tigers to a win with four wickets and a ball left. (ANI)

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