Sri Lanka takes the lead in the T20 series with a victory by just 3 runs, leaving Bangladesh in pain after the first match. The hope is to bounce back in today’s second match and keep the series alive for Bangladesh. Despite losing the first match, can Bangladesh win the series?
In the international T20 series against the West Indies in August 2018 at Lauderhill, USA, Bangladesh won the series despite losing only the first match. In that series, Bangladesh lost the first match at Central Broward Regional Park with 7 wickets. They fell behind 1-0 but went on to win the series, securing victories in the next two matches held in Lauderhill, creating an extraordinary turnaround under the leadership of Shakib Al Hasan.
In the second T20, Liton Das’ fifty (61 off 32 balls) along with Soumya Sarkar helped Bangladesh set a substantial total of 184 runs. Although West Indies tried to chase with a spirited effort and scored 135 runs, the rain intervened, and the DLS method came into play. Bangladesh won the series by 19 runs (DLS method) with West Indies 159 runs for 7 wickets.
The third match was affected by rain as well, but Liton Das’ aggressive fifty (32 balls, 61 runs) helped Bangladesh post a big score of 184 runs. When West Indies reached 135 runs, the rain stopped play. Using the DLS method, Bangladesh secured a 19-run victory and won the series.
In the T20 series, reducing the number of matches by one, Bangladesh has experienced two drawn series despite falling behind. In 2013, after losing the first match against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, Bangladesh won the next match by 34 runs, leveling the series at 1-1. The following series followed the same pattern against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2017, where Bangladesh lost the first T20 by 6 wickets but won the next match by 45 runs to end the series level at 1-1.