BAN vs SL, 2nd T20I, Review: Sri Lanka annihilate the hosts by 75 runs; win the series 2-0

Kusal Mendis was awarded both Man of the Match and Man of the Series.

Published - 18 Feb 2018, 20:17 IST | Updated - 18 Feb 2018, 20:17 IST

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Sri Lanka has defeated Bangladesh by 75 runs in the second and final T20I of the series and ended a successful tour on a high. The hosts never looked like chasing the big total that was posted by their opposition and crumbled under pressure big time. The visitors have blanked their opponents on the tour and will be riding high as they will leave the country. However, it was once again a high-scoring encounter in Sylhet as Sri Lanka posted a par-score batting first.

Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah opted to field after winning the toss as Tamim Iqbal returned to the top of the order for the home side. They made as many as four changes after losing the opening game of the series. Even SriLanka dropped Niroshan Dickwella and strengthened their bowling by handing a debut to Amila Aponso.

Mendis stars again for Sri Lanka

The openers of the visiting side, Danushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Mendis, much like the first game, got off to an excellent start. There was no pressure of the asking rate unlike the first match and they cashed in on any width provided by the bowlers. Mendis was once again in the marauding mood as he shuffled across a lot to play his shots and was successful in it. Both added 98 runs for the opening wicket as Gunathilaka was dismissed by the part-timer Soumya Sarkar.

In the process, Mendis reached his second consecutive half-century and went on to score his career-best score of 70 off just 42 balls. Even Thisara Perera enjoyed his time as he was promoted to bat at number 3 and smashed 31 off 17 balls with three fours and a solitary maximum. Dasun Shanaka provided a brilliant late flourish as he whacked the ball all around the ground and remained unbeaten on 30 after facing just 11 balls. Sri Lanka posted a mammoth total of 210 runs for the loss of four wickets after their 20 overs.

All the bowlers of Bangladesh went for runs as they were clueless against the superb batting of their opponents. The youngster Nazmul Islam was brilliant though conceding only 28 runs in his spell.

Stuttering chase

Bangladesh needed one of their top order batsmen to go big in the pursuit of a huge chase but Sarkar and Mushfiqur Rahim were sent back with only 14 runs on the board. Mohammad Mithun was sent back in the same over by Shehan Madhushanka as they were reduced to22/3. Tamim Iqbal tried his best but could only muster 29 runs and gave away his wicket to the debutant Aponso.

The procession continued despite the resistance shown by their skipper Mahmudullah who scored 41 off 31 balls. His wicket was the final nail in the coffin for the hosts as he was run-out in the 15th over. Though the game was decided much before that and eventually Bangladesh were bundled out for 135 in the 19th over.

Sri Lankan bowlers bowled extremely well as seven of their 8 bowlers were amongst the wickets. Akila Dananjaya was excellent again with his off-spin bowling and conceded only 20 runs while picking up a wicket in his four-over spell.

The visitors handed a proper hiding to Bangladesh in all the formats and endured a successful tour. Kusal Mendis was awarded the Man of the Match and Man of the Series for his game-changing knocks in both the games of the series.