Matheesha Pathirana had a poor outing with the ball in Sri Lanka’s first T20I against Bangladesh on Monday (March 4), where he ended up bowling two 11-ball overs.

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In the first game of the three-match T20I series, Sri Lanka put up a massive score of 206-3 courtesy of handy contributions from four of their top five.

Chasing 207 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Bangladesh lost opener Litton Das for a duck in the first over. At 30-3 they looked to be going nowhere before Mahmudullah sparked some momentum into the innings with a 31-ball 54 batting at No.5.

Sri Lanka held Pathirana back, giving him the ball only in the ninth over of the innings. He started with a wide down the leg side but recovered strongly to take the wicket of Najmul Hossain Shanto on the fifth ball of his first over.

Having conceded just two runs in his first over, Pathirana was given a second over on the bounce, which is when it all fell apart for the slingey right-arm bowler.

Over No.11 – 11 balls, 20 runs

The second ball of the over was a wide down the leg side, but Pathirana had overstepped as well, causing it to be given as a no-ball. The next ball was another no-ball, which Mahmudullah inside-edged for two runs. The legitimate second ball of the over, while actually being the fourth Pathirana had sent down, was deposited for a massive six.

After a single off the next ball, Pathirana bowled two consecutive wides, one down the leg side and one outside off. By then, he had bowled seven balls in the over, three legal ones, and had conceded 13.

The next three deliveries included two dot balls and a wide, before the last legitimate ball of the over, which was the 11th time he ran in to bowl, was scooped for another six by Jaker Ali to take the tally to 20 off the over.

Bangladesh went from 78-4 to 98-4 and found some momentum to capitalise on.

Over No. 17 – 11 balls, 19 runs

Between overs 12 to 16, Bangladesh scored 53 runs to bring the equation to a gettable 56 off 24 balls. Pathirana was entrusted with bowling the 17th over. It ended up being a repeat of his last one.

Of the first six deliveries of the over, three were wides – two down the leg side and one far outside off. The fourth legal delivery was hit for a six, before Pathirana took three attempts to close out the over, bowling two wides and conceding a boundary in the process.

Bangladesh’s required rate came down from 14 to 12.33 after Pathirana’s over. He came on to bowl the 19th with 27 needed, and ended up conceding 15 more in a seven-ball over. It required Dasun Shanaka to hold his nerve for the final over, as he defended 12 to take Sri Lanka to a nervy three-run victory.

Pathirana’s figures read 4-0-56-1, 12 of which came through extras, making it the highest number of extras conceded by a bowler in a men’s T20 match ever. It was also the sixth-most expensive figures by a Sri Lankan bowler in men’s T20Is, and the fourth-most expensive by a Sri Lankan seamer.

While Sri Lanka escaped in the end, Pathirana’s performance got Sri Lankan fans, as well as CSK (his IPL team) supporters watching the game, worried. The fact that he was on the floor in pain while bowling the 17th over, perhaps due to cramps, has added to the concerns surrounding his form and fitness.

The second and the third T20Is will be played on March 6 and March 9 respectively, while the IPL is scheduled to start on March 22.

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