T20 World Cup: Sri Lanka wins toss, opts to field vs Bangladesh

Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to field on a slow Sharjah wicket against Bangladesh in their Super 12 Stage match on October 24.

“We are going to bowl first. Our bowlers are doing a good job for us. After the IPL, the wicket is up-and-down, can’t guess what it is, that’s why we want to bowl. The environment has been really good, we are in a very good mood. The youngsters are doing a good job and they are very confident as well,” Shanaka said at the toss.

Talking about their playing XI, Shanaka said “Maheesh Theekshana is out. Binura Fernando comes back in.”

“We would have batted first. We need to adapt to the conditions that we are going to face. Hopefully, it’ll be a good one to bat on. Bit of a relief after the first loss. The boys are relaxed and quite free now, hopefully, we can come out here and be disciplined,” Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah said at the toss.

Playing XI for both teams:

Bangladesh (playing XI): Mohammad Naim, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah(c), Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan(w), Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.

Sri Lanka (playing XI): Kusal Perera(w), Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando, Lahiru Kumara.

Pitch report:

“It’s brown as ever; slow and low. It was relayed and hence you can’t see the sheen. You need to bowl wicket-to-wicket,” Danny Morrison and Murali Kartik said about the pitch.

T20I Head-to-Head:

Sri Lanka 7 – 4 Bangladesh (1-0 in T20 World Cups).

What Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo said ahead of the match:

“There’s always room for improvement in every department. We know we haven’t clicked with the bat yet; we know there’s a lot of improvement that can take place there at the start, in the middle and the death. So we’re looking for a general all-round improvement with the batting. But we’re happy with the way it’s gone with the ball. We’ve been pretty good in the field. Obviously, we need to see the conditions tomorrow because they’re different from those in Oman. That’s going to be a challenge for us.”