After sitting out the first two matches of the series, off-spinner Sheikh Mahedi Hasan made an emphatic return to the playing XI for the third and final T20I against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Replacing Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahedi seized his opportunity in style, producing a career-best spell of 4 for 11 as Bangladesh limited Sri Lanka to 132 for 7 at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka, having won the toss and opted to bat, got off to a promising start. Pathum Nissanka opened his account with a crisp square cut for four off the very first delivery from left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam. Kusal Mendis added another boundary two balls later, setting the tone for an aggressive powerplay. However, the momentum was short-lived. Mendis fell for 8 on the final ball of the opening over when he flicked one straight to Towhid Hridoy at deep square leg.
From that point, it was the Mahedi show.
Introduced into the attack early, Mahedi struck in his very first over by removing Kusal Perera for 4. The left-hander attempted a defensive prod to a quicker delivery outside off and edged it to Tanzid Tamim at slip. In his next over, Mahedi accounted for Dinesh Chandimal, who was playing his first T20I in three years. Chandimal mistimed a slog and was caught by wicketkeeper Jaker Ali off a top edge.
Mahedi wasn’t done. Sri Lankan skipper Charith Asalanka became his third victim when he was bowled through the gate by a sharp, skidding delivery that hurried off the surface. Mahedi claimed one more wicket to complete his spell, which included 17 dot balls and effectively strangled the hosts’ innings.
While Bangladesh dominated for the most part, the final over slightly marred their effort. Shoriful Islam, brought back to finish the innings, conceded 22 runs in a wayward over. That late flourish allowed Sri Lanka to reach a slightly more respectable total. Without it, even getting to 130 would have been in serious doubt.