Mushfiqur Rahim magnificent 72 off 35 balls helped Bangladesh secure the fourth-highest successful chase in Twenty20s and Sri Lanka skipper acknowledged that the 29-year-old’s knock was the best he had seen after his team suffered a five-wicket loss in the Nidahas Trophy game at the R Premadasa stadium.

‘It was a great display from Mushfiqur. It was the best knock that I have seen from him. Bangladesh played some very good cricket and handled the situation very well,’ Chandimal said.

On a day when 429 runs were scored, bowlers from both sides suffered. For Sri Lanka, their star bowler Akila Dananjaya went for over 12 runs per over. The move to get Dananjaya in the powerplay backfired as Bangladesh raced to 74/1 in the first six overs.

‘He is our No.1 bowler and is a wicket-taker. This was the reason why we got him in the first six overs. He has struggled in the last couple of games but bowled well in Bangladesh,’ Chandimal said.

‘Bangladeshi style of T20’

Before this match, Bangladesh had won only one out of their last 14 Twenty20 games. However, the record chase has given Tamim Iqbal hope that the worst is possibly behind this team, reports the Hindustan Times.

‘In the last couple of games, we have not been playing well. We have never done this (chasing 200) before. It gives us huge confidence. All teams are nowadays chasing 180, 200. If you start chasing those big totals, it gives the team great confidence. I hope all the bad patches that we have undergone in the last month is now behind us,’ Tamim said.

The total of 215 was the highest total successfully chased down in Sri Lanka and the left-hander is hopeful that Bangladesh can play their own style of Twenty20 for further success. ‘We don’t have someone like Dhoni comes down and finishes it off. We do not have Gayle who can take the game from ball one. If we start gaining confidence, we can play our Bangladeshi brand of cricket,’ Tamim said.

The 28-year-old also hailed Mushfiqur for his magnificent 72 off 35 balls and provided the reason behind the snake dance which the batsman did following the winning runs. ‘This dance is done by Nazmul Hossain Apu, the left-arm spinner. It is his celebration. Whenever he gets a wicket, he does the snake dance. When Mushfiqur did that dance, we knew who he was targeting,’ Tamim said.

Sri Lanka’s next match will be against India on March 12 while Bangladesh will take on Rohit Sharma’s side on March 14.