Middle-order timidity laid bare

Out of the 12 players who rolled their arm over in the first T20I between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Thursday, the only one who finished with an economy rate of below six runs per over was the hosts' Dasun Shanaka -- a batting all-rounder who only occasionally bowls in T20Is.

Shanaka, with his military medium pace bowling, conceded only 22 in four overs and also nicked off Tawhid Hridoy.

In a career spanning 103 T20Is, Shanaka has bowled in only 53 matches, and the last time before Thursday he had bowled four overs in a T20I was more than five years ago, against India in January 2020.

The second-best economy rate among the Sri Lankan bowlers belonged to leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay, who conceded 25 runs in his four overs, and also took the wicket of Bangladesh captain Litton Das.

This was an excellent performance for Vandersay, who was making his comeback to Sri Lanka's T20I side after three-and-a-half years.

Shanaka and Vandersay operated through the middle phase, bowling eight of the 10 overs between overs 7-16, in which Bangladesh made just 62 runs for the loss of three wickets.

Together, they conceded a mere 47 runs off 48 balls and also claimed a couple of wickets, and it was their bowling that canceled out Bangladesh's promising start.

The Tigers had reached 54-1 after the Powerplay, and with Pravez Hossain Emon, who was going great guns, still unbeaten, they were in an ideal position to build towards a big total.

Sri Lanka were also without ace pacer Matheesha Pathirana in the match, leaving their bowling for the middle phase a little light.

But rather than taking calculated risks to further unsettle the Lankans, the Bangladesh batters let the game drift along, allowing a part-timer like Shanaka and a returning Vandersay to complete their quotas without any pressure.

This languid approach from skipper Litton (6 off 11), Hridoy (10 off 13), Mohammad Naim (32 not out off 29), and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (29 off 23) was even more surprising, considering Bangladesh had announced a batting-heavy playing XI.

A stroke-maker like Shamim Hossain could play only five deliveries, two of which he deposited for sixes, while Rishad Hossain and Mohammad Saifuddin did not get to bat.

In contrast to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka did not allow the opposition's part-time option to bowl any cheap overs.

Chasing 155, the hosts had virtually killed off the match in the Powerplay, which yielded a record 83 runs. The hosts' batters then batted conservatively and strolled to the target in 19 overs with seven wickets in hand.

Kusal Perera batted during that period of calm and made 24 off 25. But even he pulled out a reverse sweep and hit Shamim for a six to take 11 of his over.

After that, captain Litton did not bring Shamim back into the attack, even though spinners Miraz and Rishad fared better than the pacers. By attacking the part-time option at the right time, Perera displayed match awareness, which the Bangladeshi middle-order batters were too timid to do.