Kusal Mendis 73 powers Sri Lanka to 7-wicket win over Bangladesh in first T20I

• by Aarav Chatterjee
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Sri Lanka go 1-0 up after a calm chase

Sri Lanka made a sharp, confident start to the T20I series, hunting down 159 with room to spare to beat Bangladesh by seven wickets in the opener. The hosts got the tempo right from ball one, rode an electric powerplay, and then let experience do the rest. Bangladesh had earlier posted 154/5 after choosing to bat, a score that looked competitive for a few overs before the chase settled into a steady, controlled march.

The night belonged to Kusal Mendis. He scored 73 off 51, kept the fielders guessing with gaps rather than glory shots, and timed his bursts perfectly. He didn’t force the pace when it wasn’t there. He turned ones into twos, waited for the loose ball, and let the high-risk hitting happen around him. It was a classic chase-builder’s knock, one that took the sting out of Bangladesh’s defense after the early assault from Pathum Nissanka.

Bangladesh’s 154/5 had shape but lacked a final kick. Parvez Hossain Emon lit the fuse with 38 off 22, going hard in the first six overs and picking off anything short. Mohammad Naim’s 32 off 29 held the other end together and gave the innings a platform. But as the ball softened and the surface gripped a touch, Sri Lanka’s spinners and change-ups pulled the rate back. The innings never truly broke free again.

Maheesh Theekshana was the lever Sri Lanka pulled whenever they needed control. His 2/37 in four overs came through changes of pace and that familiar drift that drags batters across the line. He kept the stumps in play. He made Bangladesh hit against the angle. Around him, captain Dasun Shanaka handled the flow nicely, even bowling himself for a tidy 1/22 in four overs, using hard lengths and the bigger side of the boundary smartly.

Bangladesh had moments. Emon’s burst forced Sri Lanka to juggle the field, and Naim’s presence meant they always had a set batter to work around. But there was no decisive middle-overs surge. Singles were available; boundaries weren’t easy. In T20s, those eight to ten balls where a side finds 20 runs can turn a total of 150 into 170. Bangladesh didn’t find that window. Sri Lanka made sure of it.

The death overs, often where games swing, didn’t offer much rescue either. Sri Lanka denied pace-on hitting and stayed straight. With wickets in hand, Bangladesh would have wanted a late volley. They got nudges and the odd boundary, but not the avalanche they needed. At 154, the game felt even—until Sri Lanka walked out with a plan.

Nissanka’s blast, Mendis’ control seal it

Pathum Nissanka set the tone. His 42 off just 16 balls was the shock Bangladesh didn’t recover from. He walked into the line early, threw his hands at width, and punished anything short. More than the runs, it was the timing—right up top in the powerplay—that tilted the ask. Once Sri Lanka were ahead of the rate, the chase felt like a long, gentle descent rather than a climb.

Nissanka’s tempo freed Mendis to take fewer risks. The right-hander rotated without fuss, hit the gaps square of the wicket, and picked bowlers he liked for his boundaries. The scorecard didn’t stall at any point. Even when wickets fell, Sri Lanka didn’t drift into dot-ball pressure. They ran hard, trusted the surface, and milked the middle overs instead of muscling them.

Bangladesh’s bowling never found a sustained pressure phase. Mohammad Saifuddin was their best on the night—1/22 in three overs, calm under fire and clever with his lengths. Mehidy Hasan Miraz returned 1/24 in four and tried to push the pace back with darted lines and fielders in the ring. But outside those two, Sri Lanka picked off singles easily and sat on anything short or wide. The ball did not swing much. The cutters held occasionally, but not enough to reorder the chase.

Sri Lanka’s approach was clinical. After the initial burst, they didn’t balloon the run rate with risky swings. They chose match-ups, waited for field changes, and kept the equation simple—six to seven an over, then four to five once Bangladesh had to gamble with fields. Mendis, especially, looked comfortable playing second gear for long stretches before stepping up just when the bowlers missed.

There were mini-turning points that stitched this together:

• Bangladesh won the toss and batted, hoping to post above par under lights. They got a platform but not a finish.
• Emon’s 38 off 22 gave the innings a noisy start, but Sri Lanka sucked out the middle-overs boundaries with Theekshana’s variations.
• Nissanka’s powerplay assault slashed the chase to a run-a-ball affair, shifting field placements and forcing defensive bowling early.
• Mendis’ fifty came without panic or slogging. Once he crossed 50, Bangladesh’s best chance—a flurry of dots—never arrived.
• Shanaka’s 1/22 in four was the hidden piece. His overs protected the spinners and trimmed the margin for error at the back end.

As the game moved into the last quarter, Sri Lanka only needed smart cricket. They found it. Singles at will, boundaries when the line strayed, and no rush to finish early. The winning hit came with an over to go, and the handshake line said it all—job done, cleanly.

There were no glaring selection shocks from either side, which tells you both camps liked their combinations for these conditions. Sri Lanka leaned into spin control and a stable top order. Bangladesh backed their left-hand options up top and seamers with variations. The balance wasn’t the issue. Execution and timing were.

The officiating team featured local umpires Raveendra Wimalasiri and Ruchira Palliyaguruge in the middle, with Lyndon Hannibal as the third umpire. Andy Pycroft, from Zimbabwe, oversaw the match as referee. The game flowed briskly, and there were no prolonged stoppages or controversies, which always helps a short-format night game find its rhythm.

Conditions favored the side that could manage the powerplay better. With a 7:00 PM start, the ball slid on early, then gripped lightly as the innings wore on. Bangladesh used that early window with the bat but didn’t cash in later. Sri Lanka flipped the script with the chase: blast early, manage the grip with singles, and finish with experience.

What does this do to the series? It hands Sri Lanka a 1-0 lead and the comfort of knowing their method works at home—fast start, spin squeeze, cool chase. It also gives their dressing room a simple message: keep the top order intact and let the middle play the field, not the occasion. For Bangladesh, it’s a reset opportunity rather than a rebuild. The innings construction was fine until the 12th over; the issue was the missing second wind between overs 13 and 18. With the ball, they need an early wicket in the powerplay to stop that kind of chase from settling.

The individuals who will dominate the debrief are straightforward. Mendis, for his Player of the Match 73 off 51. Nissanka, for forcing Bangladesh to defend with spread fields far too early. Theekshana, for making the middle overs feel like a maze. On the other side, Saifuddin and Mehidy can take heart from their economy. Emon has a rhythm that Bangladesh should back again—his intent up top was the day’s cleanest strike-play for them.

Series openers are often about nerves. This one looked more about plans. Sri Lanka’s held from the first over to the last. Bangladesh’s had gaps—small ones, but enough in T20 cricket to show up on the scoreboard. As the teams turn to the next match, the checklists are clear: Sri Lanka will want the same blueprint, while Bangladesh will chase two things—a bolder middle-overs push and a wicket inside the first four overs of the chase.

For now, the numbers say enough: Bangladesh 154/5 in 20 overs (Emon 38, Naim 32; Theekshana 2/37, Shanaka 1/22). Sri Lanka 159/3 in 19 overs (Mendis 73 off 51, Nissanka 42 off 16). Margin: seven wickets. Momentum: Sri Lanka.

One game in, this series already has its core themes—powerplay intent, spin control, and composure under lights. Sri Lanka ticked all three boxes. Bangladesh ticked two and will spend the next couple of days figuring out the third.