Pallekele: Bangladesh captain Liton Das expressed his disappointment over the team's inability to extend their innings as they suffered a seven-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in the first T20 match at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, despite an encouraging start from opener Parvez Hossain Emon, Bangladesh's batting lineup fell short, managing only 154-5. In response, Sri Lanka comfortably chased down the target in 19 overs, thanks to Kusal Mendis's 73 off 51 balls and Pathum Nissanka's explosive 42 off 16 balls. Their formidable 78-run partnership in just 28 balls effectively put the game out of Bangladesh's reach.
Liton acknowledged the challenges faced by his team, commenting, "The wicket looked pretty good, but a couple of balls kept low. We're very disappointed. Whoever batted well, needed to keep going. I thought it was a pretty good wicket to defend a chase on; we have a good bowling side."
Liton suggested that setting a target of around 170 could have provided their bowlers with a better opportunity to challenge Sri Lanka. He noted the underwhelming performance of Taskin Ahmed, who gave away 43 runs in three overs without taking a wicket. "170 would have been a good score for our bowlers, they weren't good today," Liton remarked.
However, Liton expressed satisfaction with legspinner Rishad Hossain's performance, praising his control and the difficulty he posed to the batters with his googly deliveries. "Taskin is our leading bowler but we understand anyone can have a bad day. Rishad has been improving a lot for us," Liton said. "He bowled really well. In this kind of wicket, if you bowl in the right area, it's more difficult for the batters to adjust."