The second leg of Bangladesh’s tour of Sri Lanka commences on the 9th of May 2023 with the first of the three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). The game gets underway at 10:00 AM Indian Standard Time (IST) and will be played at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo.
Sri Lanka claimed a win in the 2nd One-Day International (ODI) and had a couple of abandoned games, resulting in Sri Lanka claiming the 3-match series 1-0. In T20Is, the two teams have faced each other 11 times, and Sri Lanka, with 7 wins, has a comfortable lead over Bangladesh.
Squads:
Sri Lanka – Chamari Athapaththu (C), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Nilakshi de Silva, Hansima Karunaratne, Hasini Perera, Inoka Ranaweera, Sugandika Kumari, Anushka Sanjeewani, Kaushini Nuthyangana, Prasadini Weerakkody, Tharika Sewwandi, Kawya Kavindi, Rashmi Silva, Malsha Shehani, Inoshi Fernando, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Udeshika Prabodhani, Kavisha Dilhari, Sathya Sandeepani, Imesha Dulani
Bangladesh – Nigar Sultana (C, WK), Shorna Akter, Nahida Akter, Jahanara Alam, Disha Biswas, Fargana Hoque, Rabeya Khan, Fahima Khatun, Murshida Khatun, Sultana Khatun, Sanjida Akter Meghla, Lata Mondal, Ritu Moni, Sobhana Mostary, Shamima Sultana, Fariha Trisna
Players to watch out:
Chamari Athapaththu
The 33-year-old all-rounder has scored 2,299 runs in 108 innings in T20Is, while with the ball, has struck 34 wickets in 56 bowling innings. Chamari has been in hot form with the bat, scoring a ton in Pakistan’s T20 league, and more recently, top-scored at the FairBreak 02.
Inoka Ranaweera
The 37-year-old has struck 73 wickets in 66 T20I innings, including her best figures of 4/7, while she has scored 63 runs in 29 innings. Inoka, after a decent World Cup campaign, registered figures of 1/16 (6) in her most recent outing during the ODIs.
Ritu Moni
The 30-year-old has scored 250 runs and has struck 20 wickets in 37 outings, including her bests of 39* and 4/18 respectively. Ritu, during the ODIs, registered figures of 0/18 (5.4) and 1/39 (6) in a couple of innings with the ball, while was cheaply dismissed for just 9.
Sanjida Akter
The 21-year-old has struck 15 wickets in as many T20Is with the ball at an economy rate of 4.57 and has got the best figures of 2/4. In her most recent T20I outing, she recorded figures of 0/25 (3) against New Zealand and 2/15 in a warm-up game against New Zealand XI.
Pitch:
The 22 yards at the Sinhalese Sports Club is favorable to bowlers, especially spinners, who can anticipate significant support from the pitch. Batters have got to stay patient in the middle to score a few runs, as the average total at the venue is only 79.
Weather:
The rain continues to play spoilsport in the series as, after a couple of ODIs, the 1st T20I is now likely to be abandoned due to rain. The temperature is expected to hover around 29°C with light winds and humidity of 82%.
Fantasy playing XI:
Nigar Sultana, Anushka Sanjeewani, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Hasini Perera, Chamari Athapaththu, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Nahida Akter, Kavisha Dilhari, Shorna Akter, Fahima Khatun, Inoka Ranaweera
Match details:
Date – May 9, 2023
Time – 10:00 AM IST
Venue – Sinhalese Sports Club, Columbo
Broadcast – All games of the bilateral series will be streamed live and for free on the FanCode app and website.