SL vs BAN Preview | Sri Lanka aim to keep pristine series record intact after dominant win in 1st T20I

The latest iteration of the 'Naagin Derby', in Pallekele on Thursday, was more of a lukewarm affair rather than the intense heated clashes one has come to expect between the two teams. The only fireworks came from Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis' bat, in a 78-run partnership off just 28 balls that put the result beyond doubt within the second innings powerplay itself. Even though the Tigers showed admirable resilience to drag their 155-run defence all the way till the 19th over, it was mere compensation for what had been in truth throughout a clash dominated by the hosts. The target never looked competitive to begin with, exemplified by the fact that just five wickets fell in the 20 overs while Mohammed Naim remained unbeaten for 29 deliveries, only to strike at 110. Parvez Hossain Emon was the only Bangla batter to show intent, his 22-ball 38 at the top of the order laced with five boundaries and a maximum. The fact that the leading wicket taker of the Bangladesh Premier League Taskin Ahmed got pummelled for 43 runs in three overs in a match-defining phase of the game does not bode well for the visitors either.

All that said, the Lankans are not without issues either. For starters, the team would not want a repeat of the middle-overs slowdown that prevented them from finishing the game off much earlier than the penultimate over, largely courtesy of the spin duo of Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Rishad Hossain. At least their own spinners were up to the mark too, with Maheesh Theekshana scalping two big fish in Parvez and Miraz while Jeffrey Vandersay conceded just 25 runs in five overs and dismissed skipper Litton Das. As long as the team can find ways to keep momentum going even if their explosive top-two of Nissanka and Mendis fail to mete out the required damage, there is little that can keep the Lankans from going up 2-0 in the series.        

Form Guide

After failing to win a two-match series against the Kiwis at home and then succumbing 2-1 away against the same opponent late last year, Sri Lanka returned to faniliar pastures in style with a thorough domination of the Tigers in the first T20I. With a home World Cup slated in seven months' time, now is the time for the Lions to make their backyard a bonafide fortress

Bangladesh lost their sixth T20I on the trot on Friday, a streak that began with two defeats to the UAE and was followed by a 3-0 whitewash in Pakistan. Litton Das' record as skipper in the format now reads four wins and seven losses, with three of those wins coming when he was serving in a stand-in captaincy.  

SL: W W L L L

BAN: L L L L L

SL vs BAN Head-to-Head in T20s

Sri Lanka boast a healthy lead over their Asian rivals in the shortest format of the game but most of their wins have surprisingly come away from home. When playing in the island nation, both teams have emerged triumphant in three contests each, albeit none of the Tigers' victory has culminated in a series victory. With the Lions slowly assembling a stable unit while Bangladesh undergo a period of transition, the former would be hopeful of extending their positive record even further come Saturday. 

SL 12-6 BAN

Pitch and Weather

Boasting the unique distinction of being Sri Lanka's only international cricket stadium in the country's dry region, Dambulla has a tenacity for producing low-scoring thrillers because of the help ir provides to both fast bowlers and spinners. The new ball tends to zip around under the lights but spinners more often than not play the bigger role on the usuall dry surface with a propensity to crumble as the summer progresses. The average first innings score in eight T20Is in Dambulla -- all played in 2024 -- is 163, with two scores of sub-150 and a solitary 200-plus total. Five of those encounters were won by the team batting first, with the progressive slowness of the surface outplaying the dew factor.

The weather, meanwhile, is expected to be mostly cloudy with high levels of humidity and temperatures forecast to hover around the 25 degrees Centigrade mark throughout the encounter. No rain is expected.

Team News

Sri Lanka opted to go with Avishka Fernando over Kamindu Mendis in the first T20I and given the batter barely had a role to play in the first T20I, there is little reason to make a change. The Lions also fielded both their seam bowling all-rounders Dasun Shanaka and Chamika Karunaratne after Wanindu Hasaranga was ruled out of the series with injury, another trend likely to continue in Dambulla, while one of Binura Fernando and Nuwan Thushara could make way for Matheesha Pathirana or Eshan Malinga.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, opted to play a seam all-rounder of their own in Mohammad Saifuddin over a second specialist spinner in Nasum Ahmed and the 28-year-old delivered with 1/22 in three overs with the ball. The return of lower-order basher Jaker Ali is perhaps the only change in the office after being surprisingly left-out, only for replacement Mohammad Naim to score a sluggish unbeaten 32 in 29 deliveries. 

Sri Lanka Probable XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Avishka Fernando, Charith Asalanka (c), Dasun Shanaka, Chamia Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Eshan Malinga, Nuwan Thushara 

Bangladesh Probable XI: Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Litton Das (c/ wk), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed

Broadcasting Platforms

The three-match T20I series between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be live streamed on the Fancode app and website.