Shamim, Jaker take faltering Bangladesh to 139/5 against Sri Lanka in Asia Cup

Abu Dhabi, Sep 13 (PTI) Shamim Hossain (42 not out) and Jaker Ali (41 not out) pulled a faltering Bangladesh to 139 for five from a precarious position against Sri Lanka in their Group B Asia Cup contest here on Saturday.

Shamim and Jaker revived the Bangladesh innings, reeling at 54 for five halfway through, by putting on unbeaten 86 runs for the sixth wicket in a crucial stand, which saved the blushes for the side.

Sri Lanka began with two consecutive wicket-maidens upfront and did not take the foot off the pedal to stifle Bangladesh, with their seamers exploiting the conditions early on.

Nuwan Thushara knocked down Tanzid Hasan Tamim's (0) off stump in the first over and Dushmantha Chameera had Parvez Emon (0) caught behind in the second.

But the highlight was Kamil Mishara's throw from deep square leg which found Towhid Hridoy (8) well short of his crease in the fifth over.

In the final over of the powerplay, Litton Das (28) took the attack to Dasun Shanaka, smacking three boundaries but it largely remained a one-way traffic in Sri Lanka's favour.

Wanindu Hasaranga (2/25) maintained the pressure built by the Sri Lanka seamers, asking a lot of questions from the Bangladesh batters.

The first to perish against the leg-spinner was Mahedi Hasan (9), who played for the turn but Hasaranga’s ball straightened up to rap him on the pads in front of the off-stump.

Jaker had a stroke of luck in the 10th over when he misread a googly which went through his defence and brushed the off-stump on its way. While the red lights came on, the batter survived since the ball did not dislodge the bail.

Unfazed, Hasaranga struck a delivery later when he had Bangladesh’s best bet, Das, caught behind for 28. Das was a tad early for his sweep and the ball lobbed up off his glove for a simple grab for wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis.

Bangladesh nearly lost their fourth wicket inside the powerplay when an outside edge off Dasun Shanaka fell short of a diving Matheesha Pathirana at short third man.

To their credit, Shamim and Jaker did extremely well to punish the loose balls and rotate the strike while putting on the vital stand. PTI DDV AM DDV AM AM