Match News and Current Form
Almost nobody would have imagined Sri Lanka being bowled out at all let alone for fewer than 100 runs after they lost just three wickets in the opening game of the series, but that just goes to show what can happen when these two sides clash.
That was their fourth loss from their last seven T20Is in Dambulla and now they head to the capital hoping to put behind them a 2-6 record from their last eight games at the R. Premadasa Stadium (RPS) in Colombo, with both victories coming in a 2-1 series win over lowly Zimbabwe. Captain Charith Asalanka expressed confidence in their ability to bounce back immediately, telling the broadcast Sri Lanka are “exactly where we were in the ODIs” - that being 1-1 after two matches, albeit with their only loss in that series being a narrow one.
Bangladesh are beginning to display the power hitting that has eluded their short-form game for several years, with Sunday’s effort being the fourth time from eight T20Is this year that they cleared 175+ runs. They are often guilty of having too many players being unable to contribute with the bat on any given day, and Sunday was still no exception, but the 155 runs accumulated by captain Litton Das and middle order batters Towhid Hridoy and Shamim Hossain turned out to be more than enough.
That brought to an end a six-game losing streak and the host nation now needs to be very wary of a Bangladesh team that can tend to go on lengthy periods of either excellent or terrible form, illustrated by the 3-0 series win in the West Indies last December as well as the six straight losses both before and after it. They’re a side that is big on confidence and, with the RPS often helpful for spinners, the conditions could be in their favour too.
Head-to-Head History
Bangladesh pulled the H2H ledger back to 12-7 in Sri Lanka’s favour and 5-3 since the start of 2020. The last six matches have alternated between the teams in terms of the victor, which would mean it’s Sri Lanka’s turn to win if that continues!
Hot Stats and Streaks
• 17 of the last 21 T20Is at the RPS were won by the chasing team
• Just 35% of targets above 160 are chased at the RPS compared with 73% of targets of 160 or less
• Dasun Shanaka now averages 90.5 in all T20s against Bangladesh’s last bowling attack
• Mohammad Saifuddin has taken just two wickets in 11.1 overs against Sri Lanka’s last top seven
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Kusal Mendis has a ‘feast or famine’ relationship with this venue, going beyond 30 runs in four of his 12 T20Is but getting dismissed for less than 20 in the other eight. After a terrible three-game series in Pakistan, Rishad Hossain dragged his career bowling average back down to 21 with a three-wicket haul, his sixth in 36 T20Is. He’ll be playing his first game as a 23yo here looking to continue improving his strike rate of a wicket every 15 deliveries.
Bangladesh recalled Jaker Ali, Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam to their XI and the two bowlers certainly warrant another game, whilst Jaker should get picked again due to his incumbency. Sri Lanka went unchanged but could replace Chamika Karunaratne, who has bowled just three overs in two games for no wickets.
Betting Analysis
Anything could happen now as far as the match result is concerned. We’re instead recommending Jeffrey Vandersay to take under 1.5 wickets on the basis of his record of 1-109 from four T20Is on home soil.