Bangladesh, post a win in the opener of the 3-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series against Sri Lanka, will be itching to get out there and seal the series when they take the field on the 11th of May for the 2nd T20I at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, at 10:00 AM Indian Standard Time (IST).
In the opener, Sri Lanka batting first had Harshitha Samarawickrama top-score with 45 and contributions from Chamari Athapaththu and Nilakshi de Silva helped the side close out on 145. Skipper Nigar Sultana, with an unbeaten 75*(51), led Bangladesh to a thrilling final-over victory alongside Ritu Moni, who scored 33 runs.
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:
Nilakshi de Silva
The 33-year-old in T20Is, in 58 innings with the bat has scored 728 runs, while with the ball, in 20 innings has struck 11 wickets. Nilakshi has got quite a few starts in the series and now has got to look to convert them now.
Udeshika Prabodhani
The 37-year-old left-arm pacer, in T20Is, in 77 bowling innings has struck 52 wickets, while in 39 innings has scored 114 runs. Udeshika has looked good in the series with figures of 1/15 (3.5) in the 3rd ODI and 1/7 (3) in the T20I opener.
Nigar Sultana
The 25-year-old keeper-batter in 70 T20Is has scored 1423 runs at an average of 26.35, a strike rate of 92.04, and has got the highest of 113*. Nigar scored a fine 37 in the 3rd ODI and bettered it to a match-winning 75* in the T20I opener.
Fahima Khatun
The 30-year-old in 64 T20Is has struck 37 wickets with best figures of 4/8, while in 48 innings has scored 316 runs. Continuing on her fine form from the ODIs, Fahima in the 1st T20I produced figures of 2/20 (4).
Pitch:
The Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo favors spinners with its bowler-friendly center wicket. Games at the venue see an average total of only 92 runs, indicating the difficulty for batters. The slow pitch requires patient innings building before adopting an aggressive approach.
Weather:
With the presence of rain on the radar, the chances of having a game appear to be highly unlikely as it is expected to persist throughout the day. However, the temperature is expected to hover around 29 °C, with light winds and a humidity level of 83%.
Fantasy playing XI:
Nigar Sultana, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nilakshi de Silva, Chamari Athapaththu, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Nahida Akter, Ritu Moni, Rabeya Khan, Fahima Khatun, Udeshika Prabodhani, Fariha Trisna
Match details:
Date – May 11, 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.