On Thursday, Sri Lanka defeated Bangladesh in a thrilling comeback victory in the fifth game of the 2022 Asia Cup. In a nail-biting game, the Sri Lankan captain played a captain's knock to lead his team to the Super-Four round at the Dubai International Stadium. When Bangladesh batted first and set a massive 184-run target, the Sri Lankan team was able to chase it with two wickets and four balls remaining.
After winning the toss, Sri Lanka asked their opponents to bat first. Asitha Fernando of Sri Lanka took Matheesha Pathirana's place to play his first T20I. With only 19 runs on the board, Asitha immediately had an impact by removing Sabbir Rahman. But to avoid early damage in powerplay overs, opening batsman Mehidy Hasan and captain Shakib Al Hasan put up a 39-run partnership for the second wicket. Mehidy Hasan, who scored 38 runs off of 26 balls, was taken out in the seventh over by the renowned spinner Wanindu Hasaranga.
The next over saw Chamika Karunaratne take a crucial wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim, giving Sri Lanka the lead. Additionally, with 87/4 runs scored after 10.3 overs, spinner Maheesh Theekshana dismissed the dangerous-appearing Shakib in the eleventh over to put Bangladesh under pressure. However, the young Afif Hossain and the former captain Mahmudullah took back the initiative by playing attacking cricket in the middle overs. Afif scored 39 runs in just 22 balls, and Mahmudullah added 27 runs in just 22 balls to combine for a 57-run fifth-wicket stand. Mosaddek Hossain led Bangladesh to a score of 183/7 with an unbeaten 24 runs off nine balls. Hasaranga and Karunaratne both claimed two wickets for Sri Lanka.
Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis built together a 45-run partnership for the first wicket in powerplay overs to give their team a strong start in the chase. To put his team back in the game, Ebadot Hossain dismissed Nissanka and Charith Asalanka in the same over. Before the completion of the nine overs, Sri Lanka lost their middle-order batsmen Danushka Gunathilaka (11) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (2). Mendis, though, kept up his scoring from the opposite end and scored 60 runs off of 37 balls. Mendis was bowled out by the outstanding pacer Mustafizur Rahman in the 15th over, giving Bangladesh a strong chance to win the game. However, the Sri Lankan captain played a captain's knock, scoring 45 runs off of 33 deliveries, to enable his team go closer to the target. When they required 25 runs to win the final two overs, Karunaratne hit 16 runs off 10 balls and Asitha Fernando scored an undefeated 10 runs off only three balls.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 183/7 in 20 overs (Afif Hossain 39, Mehidy Hasan 38; Chamika Karunaratne 2-32) lost to Sri Lanka 184/8 in 19.2 overs (Kusal Mendis 60, Dasun Shanaka 45; Ebadot Hossain 3-51) by two wickets