Unsung fast bowler Nuwan Thushara produced a dynamite of an over to pluck a hat-trick in only his seventh match that was all Sri Lanka needed to beat Bangladesh in the third and deciding T20 match at Sylhet and with it the series 2-1 after Kusal Mendis made a swashbuckling 86 in a total of 173 for 7.
Bowling the fourth over with Bangladesh at 15 for 1 Thushara in his second ball shattered the stumps of Najmul Shanto for 1 with a shooting delivery and in his next ball, a bulls-eye bullet, uprooted the off stump of Towhid Hridoy.
If two wickets in two balls were not enough, the 29-year old Thushara fired the next ball into the pads of the usually reliable Mohamudullah who was ruled out leg-before for what will go down as one of the most stingingly fiery hat-tricks in international cricket that fast bowlers can only dream of and few could accomplish.
With Bangladesh reduced to a total of 15 runs for the loss of four wickets chasing a 174-target the result was a foregone conclusion with the home team’s supporters rubbing their eyes in the stands.
If Bangladesh had hopes of reviving their tattered innings, the match was all over even before it could end when Thushara bagged his fourth wicket, the scalp of opener Soumya Sarkar bowled for 11.
Thushara came in as a replacement for the erratic speedster Matheesha Pathirana whose hamstring injury in the second T20 match was a blessing in disguise for Sri Lanka who needed to win yesterday’s match after Bangladesh drew level 1-1 going into the decider.
Thushara was the toast, a bolt from the blues sent to rescue a team that was as desperate as any other to beat a rival that has become its nemesis in recent times.
Earlier Bangladesh could not prevent Sri Lanka from reaching a defendable 173 for 7 in the 20 overs as Kusal Mendis smashed the bowlers to all parts of the ground for a top score of 86 made in 55 balls with eight sixes and an equal number of fours.
With Mendis’ exit and Sri Lanka at 140 for 5 with 3.1 overs left it fell on the shoulders of Dasun Shanaka to make a brisk 19 in nine balls with two fours and a six.
