Asia Cup T20 Match 2 Review: Sri Lanka edge past UAE by 14 runs

Sri Lanka began their Asia Cup 2016 campaign with a 14-run win over the UAE in the second fixture of the Asia Cup T20 2016. Despite posting a modest total, Lasith Malinga & Co came back well to get Sri Lanka a crucial win in the opening game.

UAE skipper Ajmal Javed won the toss and invited the Sri Lankans to bat first. As expected, the wicket retained some of the moisture and grass from the previous day. The Lankan openers got off to a slow start as Mohammad Naveed and Qadeer Ahmed kept the runs in check. Despite his partner finding some form, Tillakaratne Dilshan failed to find the meat of the bat. He was put out of his misery in the 10th over when he became Ajmal Javed’s first scalp of the match. The Lankans found themselves in deep trouble when the UAE skipper foxed Milinda Siriwardana and Dinesh Chandimal in quick succession.

The rest of the Sri Lankan batting fell apart like a pack of cards as Angelo Mathews and Dasun Shanaka also lost their wickets. It was one man Dinesh Chandimal who stood out and in the end, proved to be the difference between the two sides. Chandimal’s fifty gave the Lankans enough runs to challenge the UAE batsmen with. Though 129 looked a gettable total but the team batting second lacked experience and Sri Lanka had all of it in their bowling. For the Emirates team skipper, Ajmal Javed was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up an impressive 3/25 in his 4 overs. Javed was well supported by the Mohammad Naveed as the latter picked up 2 wickets at an economical over rate.

The UAE innings began with a wicket and in no time Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekera were all over the batsmen. Rohan Mustafa, the hero for UAE in the qualifier was dismissed first ball by Malinga. Mohammad Shahzad too got out soon after to a trademark Malinga toe-crusher. With two of their best players dismissed, wicketkeeper batsman Swapnil Patil led a brief revival. He came out to the middle with his side at 38/5. He showed immense character en route to his 37 as the UAE saved face by batting the entire 20 overs. A mammoth 7 no balls in the innings ensured that the UAE finished off on 115/9 off their 20 overs. Lasith Malinga was the pick of the bowlers with an impressive 4-wicket haul. He was well supported by the returning Nuwan Kulasekara and the veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath who ensured the middle overs were tight enough and that the pressure was always on the opposition.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka – 128/9 in 20 overs (Chandimal 50; Javed 3/25)

UAE – 115/9 in 20 overs (Patil 37; Malinga 4/26)

Man of the Match: Lasith Malinga