Sri Lanka took the bronze medal in the men’s T20 cricket competition at the Asian Games in Japan, beating Bangladesh by 63 runs in the third-place play-off.
The margin flattered a side that had been in serious trouble inside six overs. Sri Lanka lost four wickets for 29 runs in the powerplay, with the entire top four dismissed for single-figure scores, before Tharindu Ratnayake rebuilt the innings almost single-handedly.
Ratnayake made 65 from 32 balls, reaching his half-century off 26 deliveries and striking seven fours and five sixes. He added 93 for the sixth wicket off just 46 balls with captain Sahan Arachchige, who contributed 33. Ashen Bandara made 18 as Sri Lanka closed on 165 for nine.
Bangladesh’s reply started briskly, reaching 50 inside 8.1 overs, but the innings folded quickly afterwards — six wickets had gone down for 66 by the 9.4th over. Nasum Ahmed top-scored with 26, Yasir Ali Chowdhury made 21 and Parvez Hossain Emon 20. Bangladesh were bowled out for 102 in 17.3 overs.
Ratnayake, better known for his ambidextrous bowling, also took two wickets to finish with an all-round performance that decided the match.
The bronze is a measure of recovery for a side whose semi-final had gone badly wrong. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 45 by India and lost by 124 runs, one of the heaviest defeats in their recent T20 record.
India and Pakistan were scheduled to meet in the gold-medal match.
