Bangladesh bowlers were on fire and restricted Sri Lanka at 159/7 in 20 overs. Shakib Al Hasan Mustafizur Rahman and Mehidy Miraz ripped through the Lankan top order in the must-win match aganist the host team.

After Shakib Al Hasan took an early wicket on his return, Mustafizur Rahman also joined the party as he removed Kusal Mendis. Shakib picked Gunathilaka's wicket. Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bowl first in the ‘must win’ match aganist Sri Lanka.

The equation is simple: The winners go through to the final of the Nidahas Trophy, where India are waiting. The losers are out. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh know there’s no room for slip-ups when they take each other on in the final round-robin game of the Twenty20 International tri-series in Colombo on Friday.

Not that either side did too much wrong in getting into such a tricky situation, it’s the nature of a short and quick tournament. At the halfway point of the series, all teams had a win apiece, and anything was possible. Since then, however, India have powered on, beating Sri Lanka by six wickets, and following that up with a 17-run triumph over Bangladesh to go clear of the opponents.

Mushfiqur Rahim once again scored a fine half-century against India in the last game. Bangladesh were chasing a target of 177, seemingly a manageable task given that they had toppled 214 against Sri Lanka a few days earlier. This time, however, he lacked support. Tamim Iqbal and Sabbir Rahman scored 27 each, but the rest of the eight batsmen who took the crease didn’t go past single digits, and Bangladesh crashed to defeat despite Rahim’s best efforts.

Their bowlers didn’t fare too well earlier – Rubel Hossain’s 2/27 apart, none of the others were among the wickets – and Bangladesh will hope to put behind a bad day in the office. To that end, they have been boosted by the return of Shakib Al Hasan. The all-rounder had injured his finger in January, but has recovered sufficiently and will link up with the rest of the squad in Colombo on Thursday.

As for Sri Lanka, they have been outstanding when on song. Admittedly, India did peg them back in their last outing, restricting them to 152/9 before chasing it down in 17.3 overs. However, they have a few players in form who could trouble Bangladesh, the Kusals – Mendis and Perera – foremost among them.

In the previous clash between these sides last week, Mendis and Perera both scored half-centuries and put on an 85-run stand, helping Sri Lanka to 214/6. Bangladesh survived that chase in a thriller, with Iqbal and Liton Das playing strong hands to go with Rahim’s 35-ball 72*. They might have to do it all over again, but Sri Lanka, without the suspended Dinesh Chandimal again, will be driven – it is, after all, a celebration of 70 years of their independence and making the final will make everyone at home happy.

This clash might, therefore, largely depend on whether, and to what degree, the in-form players in each side come good.

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera(w), Upul Tharanga, Thisara Perera(c), Jeevan Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Isuru Udana, Akila Dananjaya, Amila Aponso, Nuwan Pradeep

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Shakib Al Hasan(c), Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Nazmul Islam