SL fight back to post 159

After being reduced to 41 for five inside nine overs, Sri Lanka staged a stirring comeback through twin fifties from opener Kusal Perera and skipper Thisara Perera and ended with a more-than-competitive score of 159 for six in their T20I tri-nation Nidahas Trophy match against Bangladesh at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo today. 

As stirring as the recovery was, it probably would not have been possible without a generous helping hand from captain Shakib Al Hasan, who on his comeback from injury took the decision not to bowl specialist left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam, presumably because of their belief or fear that a left-arm spinner is of no use against left-hand batsmen. 

Shakib, a left-arm spinner himself, also did not bowl more than the two overs he bowled at the start of the innings, the second of which got him the wicket of left-handed opener Danushka Gunathilaka. Instead, six overs were bowled by part-timers Mahmudullah Riyad and Soumya Sarkar for 50 runs and one wicket.

The start was excellent for Bangladesh after Shakib, coming back after a near two-month injury lay-off in place of Abu Hider Rony, won the toss and chose to field. After Shakib's dismissal of Gunathilaka in the third over, pacer Mustafizur Rahman had the in-form Kusal Mendis caught off a miscued pull at midwicket in the fourth over and came back in the sixth over to get Dasun Shanaka caught behind for a duck.

Earlier in the same over, Upul Tharanga sacrificed his wicket for Kusal Perera after a mix-up when he had run halfway down the pitch from the non-striker's end. Mehedi Hasan Miraz then had Jeevan mendis caught at short fine leg off a top-edged sweep in the first ball of the ninth over to leave Sri Lanka on 41 for five. 

That was when the crucial 97-run partnership between the two Pereras started. Kusal Perera scored 61 off 40 balls with the help of seven fours and a six and Thisara Perera remained unbeaten on a 37-ball 58 with three fours and as many sixes. 

Mustafizur, after giving away just four runs in his first two overs, proved especially expensive as he gave away 35 in his last two. Meanwhile Nazmul, who gave away just 27 runs in four overs in the previous match against India, was twiddling his thumbs in the outfield.