Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh, 1st T20I at Kandy, SL vs BAN, Jul 10 2025 - Match Result

And with that it's a wrap from us. The next game will be on the Sunday evening, as the action moves to Dambulla. Be sure to join us for that, but until then, on behalf of Fidel and the rest of the team, this is Madushka signing off!

Charith Asalanka: "{Why bowl first?] When we were playing in the LPL, chasing teams one because of the fast outfield and generally one shorter boundary. That's why we decided to bowl first. [Depth?] Vandersay is with us in the bench mostly because of Wanindu, that's the reality. But he got his chance today. It's a good headache, that I like to have in my team. [areas to improve] Not much in this game. I thought it was quite a complete game for us, every department did well. I just want to keep improving in the fielding. [finish the game earlier?] The pitch was decent but once the ball got older it started sticking in the pitch."

Litton Das: "The wicket looked pretty good, but a couple of balls kept low. We're very disappointed. Whoever batted well, needed to keep going. I thought it was a pretty good wicket to defend a chase on, we have a good bowling side. But we didn't bowl well, but any cricketer can have that bad day. [Rishad] He bowled really well. In this kind of wicket if you bowl the right area, it's more difficult for the batters to adjust."

Player of the Match goes to Kusal Mendis for his 73 off 51: "The wicket was a little bit slow, took some turn. That's why I slowed down later. But I played my natural game earlier, and I just wanted to see the game out. [crowd?] It's one of the biggest crowds I've seen in Kandy, thank you so much for supporting us."

10.16pm Time for the post-match presentation.

Mayukha: "What a purple patch KM is in! And what a start by Pathum. "

Santy : "Nice and eazy"

Sahan: "Strike rates of the SL openers vs others is a stark contrast!"

10.08pm So Sri Lanka win with just 6 balls to spare, but the result was never in doubt after Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka's opening stand. The pair put on 78 in just 28 balls as Sri Lanka ransacked 83 runs in the powerplay. It meant that the rest of the batters had to take absolutely minimal risk, on a surface that in truth was definitely not as easy to bat on as Nissanka and Mendis made it look. Bangladesh didn't bowl particularly well either, though credit to Mendis and Nissanka for never letting anyone settle. Mendis fell just before the finish line, but al it did was allow him a deserved ovation of his own. The Lankan bowlers, meanwhile, understood the nature of the pitch and kept taking the pace off. After Emon's early burst, the middle order struggled, and only some late strikes from Shamim pushed the total past 150 - a score that was always going to be a struggle to defend.

Just 4 away now...

Damian : "@Muzhaid, to give this massive crowd time to enjoy the party and have fun. "

Akindu: "A bit dissapointed that we arent gonna see Shanaka bat. Its been a long time coming." --- Don't count your chickens yet.

Santy: "There's no run rate factor. Take your time and reach the goal."

Muzahid: "I am not sure about this prolonging approach from Lankans.. Thought they would surpass the target within 15 overs"

Rifnaz: "The last boundary came after 34 balls!" --- Not as pressing when a bazillion were scored prior to that.

Jay: "Switching between this match and the one at Lords (IND vs ENG). It's always a treat to watch a dominant Sri Lanka. Could they be the biggest quiet achiever in cricket at the moment? I'm already looking forward to seeing them next year in the T20 WC, which is also in subcontinental conditions."