Mahmudullah hammers his seventh T20I half-century: Key stats
Albeit in a losing cause, veteran Bangladesh all-rounder Mahmudullah scored a fighting half-century in the opening T20I against Sri Lanka in Sylhet. He went after the bowlers from the outset in a bid to rescue his side from a top-order collapse. With the help of four maximums of two boundaries, he scored 54 off 31 balls. This was his seventh T20I fifty.
A fighting effort from Mahmudullah
Bangladesh were reeling at 30/3 in a chase of 207 when Mahmudullah arrived in the middle. He joined forces with skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (20) and the duo tried to consolidate with a brief 38-run stand. The latter found another potent partner in Jaker Ali as the duo added 47 runs. Mahmudullah eventually fell to Maheesh Theekshana in the 14th over.
Mahmudullah's run in T20Is
Playing his 122nd T20I, Mahmudullah has raced to 2,176 runs at 23.91. Among Bangladesh batters, only Shakib Al Hasan (2,382) owns more T20I runs. This was his maiden T20I fifty against SL as he has raced to 352 runs against them at an average and strike rate of 39.11 and 149.15, respectively. He now boasts 5,756 T20 runs, averaging 25-plus (50s: 21).
How did the game pan out?
Kusal Mendis (59) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (61*) consolidated with a 96-run stand after Sri Lanka lost two wickets in the powerplay. Both batters slammed fifties as the hosts posted 206/3 in their allotted 20 overs. In reply, Bangladesh suffered early inroads before Mahmudullah came to their rescue. Youngster Jaker Ali also scored a fighting 68. Angelo Mathews and Dasun Shanaka claimed two wickets apiece.
