
Bangladesh will be looking to win their first white-ball series in Sri Lanka when they face the hosts in their third and final T20I at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo today.
The match is scheduled for 7:30pm Bangladesh Standard Time, and T Sports and Nagorik TV will telecast it live.
After losing the opening match by seven wickets, the Tigers made a strong comeback in the second game with a thumping 83-run win to level the series 1-1.
Bangladesh restricted the hosts to a meagre 94 while chasing 177, which was their highest-run win against any Test-playing nation and Sri Lanka’s lowest T20I total at home.
It was a complete show by the Tigers, which is rarely seen in recent times, as they delivered almost in every department.
Skipper Liton Das anchored the innings with a solid 76 off 50 balls—his first T20I fifty in 14 innings—and Shamim Patwary contributed in the middle while bowlers helped them finish off in style.
‘Now the series is level at 1-1, the win in the second match was important for us because of gaining confidence,’ said Shamim, who scored 48 and shared a key 77-run partnership with Liton.
The win restored confidence in the Tigers camp as they brought an end to their six-match losing streak in the format.
‘Now we have a chance to win the series, and hopefully, if we play well, we will win it,’ said Shamim.
After his impressive batting performance, Shamim came into the highlight with a direct hit run-out to dismiss Kusal Mendis, which was one of the few bright spots for Bangladesh in this tour.
As the team is going through a transition period after veteran Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah’s retirement, Shamim emerged at the perfect time to fill the void.Ìý
‘Whenever I go out to bat, my plan is to stay positive. Someone has to take risks, and I want to take that responsibility for the team. This was an important win for us,’ he added.
However, Bangladesh have never won a white-ball series against Sri Lanka away from home and failed to secure a T20I series in their last five bilateral series.Ìý
Their best result came in 2017 with a draw in a two-match series in Colombo. Overall, the two sides have met 19 times in T20Is, with Bangladesh winning seven and losing 12.
The final game will also bring an end to Bangladesh’s all-format tour of Sri Lanka, during which they lost the Test series 1-0 and the ODI series 2-1.Ìý
A T20I series victory would offer them a much-needed high point, as Liton and Co are yet to win a series since their win against the West Indies tour last year.Ìý
Followed that, Bangladesh suffered series defeats to UAE (2-1) and Pakistan (3-0).
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