Tigers storm into final after high drama

A nerveless Mahmudullah has heaved the penultimate ball of the game for a spectacular six to propel Bangladesh to the final of the NIDAHAS Trophy, stunning Sri Lanka by two wickets in a humdinger, report agencies.

The Tigers will take on India in the T20I tri-series final today (Sunday), after chasing down the hosts' 159 for 7 at the R Premadasa Stadium on Friday.

The vice-captain held on his nerves for a matchwinning unbeaten 43 off 18 balls in the emotion-charged virtual semifinal that twisted and turned wildly.

Sri Lanka got the upper hand before Bangladesh had a steady start to their chase. Akila Dananjaya got rid of Liton Das for 0, and then had Sabbir Rahman stumped for 13.

Opener Tamim Iqbal and in-form Mushfiqur Rahim played smart cricket and focused on singles to ease off the pressure.

Tamim showed aggression against the spinners and added 50 runs off 40 deliveries for the third wicket.

Mushfiqur crossed 1,000 T20I runs with a single in his 28-run knock but hit straight to Kusal Perera at extra cover off Amila Aponso, trying to accelerate the run rate.

Spinners struck to bring Sri Lanka back in the game, picking five wickets for 51 runs to see Bangladesh slip from 97 for 2 to 109 for 5.

Tamim fell soon, but only after scoring his fifth T20I fifty.

Mahmudullah was joined by Soumya Sarkar but the left-hander did not last long: he charged down the wicket and edged Jeevan Mendis to the keeper for 10 as the required run-rate kept soaring.

Skipper Shakib Al Hasan, back from injury for this crunch game to lift the spirits of the team, flattered to deceive. He flicked a Isuru Udana delivery down the leg straight to fine leg off to leave his side needing 23 off 12.

But Man-of-the-Match Mahmudullah kept Bangladesh's hopes alive and his head, as well, picking the occasional boundaries and running hard for singles to make sure the asking rate does not spiral beyond the reach.

With 12 needed off 7, Mehedi Hasan Miraj was run out from a direct hit after he failed to connect to a bouncer. The next ball, Mustafizur Rahman, in desperation to get Mahmudullah on strike, got himself run out.

Bangladesh were unhappy that Udana's second straight bouncer was not called a no-ball.

The square-leg umpire apparently stretched his arm to signal a no-ball, but eventually it was deemed a legal delivery once Mustafizur was out.

High drama followed as Shakib stormed out near the boundary rope and called his players off the field, which, if they had obliged, would mean Bangladesh forfeiting the match and getting disqualified.

But better sense prevailed and the team decided to carry on with the game.

Face India today

There were to be more fracas later on with Bangladesh's substitutes and Sri Lanka's fielders having a run-in.

After three dot balls and two run-outs, Mahmudullah was back on strike with 8 needed off 3 balls.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh will play their giant neighbour India in the final of the Nidahas Trophy tri-nation T20 tournament at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.

The final of the seven-match tournament will begin at 7:30 pm (Bangladesh time) where all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan-led Bangladesh side must look forward to a maiden victory against India in the T20I format to clinch the maiden trophy in any tri-nation tournament.

But the record shows that Indians are far ahead of Bangladesh in the tournament as they confirmed the final berth as league leader beating Bangladesh twice while against hosts Sri Lanka won in one game against one loss.

Moreover, Bangladesh never tasted any win against India in the shortest format of cricket among their seven meetings, since June 2009.

Bangladesh squad: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Mahmudullah Riyad, Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Liton Kumar Das, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Abu Hider, Abu Jayed, Ariful Haque, Nazmul Islam, Nurul Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat and Mohammed Siraj.