The game between Sri Lanka Legends and Bangladesh Legends ended up with the latter suffering a third straight defeat as their opponents went to the top of the points table.

The game wasn't as one-sided as the scorecard may suggest, as the Bangladesh Legends showed marked improvement in their bowling as well as batting.

As Sri Lanka Legends came out to bat, a quickfire 33 (23) from their captain, T. Dilshan, looked like it would ensure yet another massive score but Bangladesh Legends pegged them back. The bowling performance was fantastic in the first 16 overs as Sri Lanka Legends only managed 119 for the loss of 4 wickets. However, a subsequent Upul Tharanga blitzkrieg saw them finish with 180 for the loss of 6 wickets. Tharanga fell agonizingly short of a magnificent century as he finished with 99* (47). It would have made him the first centurion in the tournament.
For Bangladesh, Mohammad Rafique, Abdur Razzak and Mohammad Sharif were excellent. Razzak was especially economical despite not picking up any wickets.

In the run chase, Bangladesh Legends started brightly as they reached 54 in their first 6 overs. Nazimuddin and Mehrab Hossain were brilliant as an opening pair, but after Hossain fell, it was a stranglehold laid down by the Sri Lankans as they managed to add only 84 runs in fourteen overs. Nazimuddin starred yet again with 54(41), while Mashud and Mehrab contributed with good cameos as well. Dilshan led by example as he scalped 3 wickets giving away just 21 runs. Farvez Maharoof and Dhammika Prasad were very economical as well, and ensured that the Bangladesh Legends never had a chance to come back into the game.

Sri Lanka would woe three or four dropped catches as two of those went for six. It wasn't an entire disaster though as Dilshan took an absolute screamer off Dhammika Prasad's bowling. They choked in the middle overs and struggled in the first 6 overs of their batting as well. They would hope to avoid this in matches against the more unforgiving teams that they will meet in the semis, having guaranteed their qualification here. Bangladesh Legends have the lowest chance of qualification but will be happy with a much improved performance by their bowling unit and their openers. A change in the batting order could really help their case, as would a bit more discipline in the last few overs of their bowling.

Overall, the contest was quite great to watch, and it was refreshing to see Bangladesh fight tooth and nail despite having the odds against them.

Brief scores :

Bangladesh Legends 138-6 in 20 overs (Nazimuddin 54(41), K. Mashud 28*(22); T. Dilshan 3/21, D. Prasad 2/22) lost to Sri Lanka Legends 180-6 in 20 overs (U. Tharanga 99*(47), T. Dilshan 33(23); M. Rafique 1/24, M. Sharif 1/30) by 42 runs