All eyes will be on Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza in their second and final T20 match against Sri Lanka on Thursday. The pacer is set to retire after this match, and his team mates could provide him with a perfect gift by winning the contest, levelling the series and seeing Mortaza end his T20 career on a high.
Sri Lanka were impressive in the first T20 match of the series, beating Bangladesh by six wickets. The host nation drew the Test and the ODI series against Bangladesh.
But Sri Lanka, who have always been a strong side at home, will look for a positive result in the T20 series, which can be attained with a win in the second T20.
Sri Lanka, after a good victory in the first match, are not expected to make any changes, and will look at Kusal Perera, their first T20 hero, to deliver the goods with the bat once again. However, other players, including Upul Tharanga, have to shine at the top for the island team to score quality runs in the contest.
Coming to the Bangladesh team, there is a serious need for the Tigers to improve upon their last match performance. Their batsmen, after getting a good start, should build on it and score big runs, rather than giving away their wickets easily.
With Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasakera opening the bowling for Sri Lanka, Bangladesh openers Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar need to be cautious and not allow them to take wickets, but also score decent runs. They have experienced players like Mahmuddulah, Shakib Al Hasan, who can go all out in the second half of their innings if they have wickets in hand.
It would be a huge result for Bangladesh if they manage to win the second T20, and draw the series.
Where to watch live
Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh 2nd T20 is scheduled for 7 pm local time (7 pm IST, 7:30 pm Bangladesh time). Here are the live streaming and TV option.
India: TV: Ten 1 HD, Ten 3. Live streaming: Sony Liv
Bangladesh: TV: Gazi TV: Live streaming: Gazi TV
Sri Lanka: TV: Eye TV
South Africa: TV: Super Sport. Live streaming: Super Sport video
