Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, T20I series 2017 - Combined XI

A very exciting T20I series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka came to an end with the visitors capping off a very impressive tour with a win. The win in the second and the final T20I of the 2-match series ensured yet another series leveling effort from the men in green. Needless to say that they have been very impressive on the tour. Prior to the commencement of the tour, very few people had given the visitors a chance in the series.

The way they lost the first Test only made the claims of the cricket pundits stronger. However, the team fought back strong and won the second Test to level the series 1-1. The ODI series had a similar story. They won the first ODI to get a 1-0 lead and then lost the final one to end the series with another 1-1 scoreline. Then came the shortest format when the visitors fancied their chances the most. In the first T20I, they were singlehandedly blown away by the batting pyrotechniques of Kusal Perera.

In the second T20I, veteran player Shakib Al Hasan rose to prominence to see Bangladesh come out on top of the game. The performances from both the sides were phenomenal in this T20I series. Lasith Malinga scalped a brilliant hat-trick to enter the record books. No doubt it was a closely fought series. Here is the Combined XI of Sri Lanka v Bangladesh T20I series:

1. Kusal Perera

There were dark clouds over the participation of Kusal Perera in the T20 series because of injury concerns. A day prior to the first T20I, he passed the fitness tests and made it to the playing eleven. He made a thunderous return to the team with a blitzkrieg 77 that help Sri Lanka won the first T20I. Chasing a decent 156 to win, Perera came in to open the innings with Upul Tharanga.

He added valuable 65 runs with the skipper at the top for the opening stand. Soon he took the matter into own hands and started his onslaught. It was only a matter of time that he eased past his fifty. He was unlucky not to have seen his side go over the line and was dismissed with 10 odd runs still left to be chased. In the series, he scored 81 runs across the two matches.

2. Soumya Sarkar

Bangladesh opener Soumya Sarkar was the leading run scorer for the visitors in the two match series. He hit a gutsy 29 in the first match in just 20 balls with 3 fours and a six. He struck with a strike rate of 145 and that looked like an ominous deal for the visiting team.

In the second match, he improved his strike rate to 200 and his 34 runs in just 17 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes. He gave a lying start to the team along with Imrul Kayes. They added 71 runs for the first wicket in the match. He laid the foundation for a high score for the team. He did not let the opposition  bowlers settle in and certainly was a big impact.3. Mosaddek Hossain Saikat

Mosaddek Hossain Saikat is one the promising rising players from the Bangladesh team. Time and again he has made valuable contributions in the middle order and in the lower middle order. In the second match, when the situation demanded some quick runs, he hit a six and a four first up. He perished in an attempt to accelerate more and ended up with an 11-ball 17.

However, his much improved performance had come in the first ODI where his side had lost the match. He scored an unbeaten 34 off 30 balls with 3 fours to take the team past the 150 run mark. Things looked grim when the innings had succumbed midway in the match with a flurry of wickets. It was Mosaddek who then added a decent stand with Mahmudullah to help the team post 155/6 in their 20 overs.

4. Chamara Kapugedara

Veteran Sri Lankan batsman Chamara Kapugedara was under immense pressure to perform in the series. In the recent times, he had failed to live up to his reputation. He had a very poor outing in the first game as well where he could not score big. In the second match, he was the lone ranger for the hosts.

On a track where most Sri Lankan batsmen failed to find their feet going, it was Kapugedara who hit a brilliant 35-ball 50 to keep the hopes of the Sri Lankans alive. He hitt 5 fours and a six in his innings. His heroics in the match earned him a spot in the combined XI for the series.

5. Upul Tharanga

Sri Lankan skipper Upul Tharanga was clearly the more attacking captain in the series despite the fact that his counterpart took to attacking ways in the second match. From the performance point of view, Tharanga played a good handy knock in both the matches to give his team a decent start. In the first match, when he saw Kusal Perera go all guns blazing, he was happy to play the second fiddle.

In both the matches, he ensured that he did not give his wicket away early on in the innings and provided the stability to the innings. In the second match, he scored another 23 coming in at number 3. He batted sensibly and got starts. It was unfortunate for him and his team that he could not pick his form for long. 
6. Mahmudullah

Veteran Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmudullah clearly showed indications of being back to good form. He bowled well and batted well in the two match series. Prior to the tour, there were rumors about the player being axed from the setup. However, he defied all critics and struck his way back to form. In the first match, he added a crucial run stand with Mosaddek Hossain Saikat to ensure the visitors did not fall below the 140 run mark.

He hit 31 off 26 deliveries with 3 fours to his name. Later, he was given the new ball by the captain and he delivered well by giving away just 6 runs in his first two overs. In the second match, he bagged the wicket of opposition skipper Upul Tharanga.

7. Shakib Al Hasan

Shakib Al Hasan is one of the senior most members of the Bangladesh team. He started off poorly with just 11 runs in the first match. In the bowling department, he had a lackluster performance too. He gave away 29 runs off 3 overs and leaked runs close to 10 runs per over. However, he rectified his performances in the next match.

He came up with a good all round show to be the player of the match for the visitors. He took the new ball and ran through the opposition batting with his three-for. He scalped 3/24 in his 4 overs on the day. Earlier in the match, he had scored a vital 38 that came off just 31 balls with 4 boundaries.

8. Mashrafe Mortaza

Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza had all the eyes glued to him as he had announced his retirement from the game prior to the series. The series against Sri Lanka was going to be his last in the shortest format of the game. He played well enough to be among the wickets for his team.

In the two matches that he played, he bowled his full quota of 8 cumulative overs across the matches and gave 62 runs. He picked up 3 wickets in the series with a best of 2/32. He averaged a very impressive 20.66 with the ball and had a decent strike rate of 16. He did not get a lot of opportunity to show his prowess with the bat but was prolific as a leader for the team.
9. Asela Gunaratne

All rounder Asela Gunaratne has been a revelation for the Sri Lanka cricket this season. His brilliant performances in the South Africa and Australia series won him an IPL contract with the Mumbai Indians this year. So he certainly did have a lot of headlines to bag and many people looked up to him in the series.

In the first match, he got a good start with 17 runs to his name but could not capitalize. With the ball, he was very impressive as he gave away just 24 runs in his four overs for his solitary wicket. In the second match, he got another wicket and returned with figures of 1/15.

10. Mustafizur Rahman

Mustafizur Rahman has been the most impressive young pace bowler in the recent times. Some thought that he is losing his guile and charm with too much cricket being enforced on him. However, it is certainly not the case. He finished as the leading wicket taker for Bangladesh in the series.

He scalped 4 wickets in the two matches that he played. He choked the opposition lower order with his 4/21 in the second match. He bowled with an economy of 7 in the match and his efforts combined with early heroics of Shakib Al Hasan saw the hosts bundle out for 131. In the first match, he went wicketless but ensured that he did not leak too many runs.

11. Lasith Malinga

Veteran speedster Lasith Malinga was named the Player of the Series and he rightly deserved the accolade. In the two matches that he played, he picked up 5 wickets to finish as the leading wicket taker of the series. In the first match, he scalped 2/38 and that had some glimpses of vintage Malinga. The way he perfected his yorkers and managed to crash into the stumps of Mahmudullah was priceless to watch.

In the second match, he entered the record books by taking a hat-trick yet again in the shortest format of the game. With figures of 3/34, he proved it yet again why he is such a valuable asset to the team in the shorter formats. Malinga will now join the Mumbai Indians camp for the 2017 edition of the IPL.