The 31-year-old Sri Lanka National Cricket Team pacer Nuwan Thushara provided his team with an exceptional start in their Asia Cup 2025 opening match on Saturday, September 13.
Sri Lanka National Cricket Team are currently taking on the Bangladesh National Cricket Team in the 5th match of the Asia Cup 2025 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Asia Cup 2025: Tanzid Hasan falls for a 6-ball duck
Sri Lanka won the toss and invited Bangladesh to bat first in the match. Nuwan Thushara was handed the new ball by his captain Charith Asalanka, and the pacer made life tough for the opening batter Tanzid Hasan.
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Nuwan Thushara looked dangerous in the first over of the match, and Tanzid Hasan was finding it very hard to play his shots against the Sri Lankan pacer.
Tanzid Hasan tried everything he could, but didn’t manage to get any run on the first five balls, and then on the sixth and final ball of the over, he saw his stumps getting rattled.
Nuwan Thushara bowled a full-length inswinger, and Tanzid Hasan went for an ugly swipe. The Bangladesh batsman completely missed the ball, and his stumps were totally shattered for a six-ball duck.
Things got tougher for the Bangla Tigers in the next over as Dushmantha Chameera bowled a sensational maiden over and sent Parvez Hossain Emon packing. After 2 overs, Bangladesh were at 0 for 2.
With their sensational start with the ball, Nuwan Thushara and Dushmantha Chameera became only the fifth and sixth bowlers in T20I Asia Cup history to bowl wicket maidens in powerplay overs.
Wicket maidens in Overs 1-6 in Asia Cup (T20Is):
Mohammad Amir (PAK) vs UAE, Mirpur, 2016
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (IND) vs UAE, Mirpur, 2016
Shahnawaz Dahani (PAK) vs HK, Sharjah, 2022
Ateeq Iqbal (HK) vs AFG, Abu Dhabi, 2025
Nuwan Thushara (SL) vs BAN, Abu Dhabi, 2025*
D Chameera (SL) vs BAN, Abu Dhabi, 2025*
Asia Cup 2025: Watch: Nuwan Thushara castles Tanzid Hasan
𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐉𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐚 from Thushara 🔥
Watch #BANvSL LIVE NOW on Sony Sports Network TV channels & Sony LIV.#SonySportsNetwork #DPWorldAsiaCup2025 pic.twitter.com/0F3XFbfiAm
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) September 13, 2025
It’s actually a rivalry for the fans – Charith Asalanka
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka downplayed the rivalry against Bangladesh. He said:
“It’s actually a rivalry for the fans, but for us as players, it’s a good, challenging competition. We just want to give a good game to Bangladesh and also to other nations
“A little bit, yes. But at the same time, it’s just a game for us. We focus on following our basics and executing our plans correctly,” he noted.
Charith Asalanka further highlighted how Bangladesh defeated them in the recent home series and emphasised following the basics and sticking to their plans.
“I think we all know they are doing really well at the moment. We lost the series against them in Sri Lanka, but even though we lost, we played good cricket. We just want to follow our basics, stick to our plans, and execute well,” he said.
“Compared to other venues in the UAE, Abu Dhabi is the best pitch for batters, especially once the ball gets older. The outfield is also very nice, and I hope every batsman enjoys playing here,” he added.
Also Read: Asia Cup 2025: India Playing XI for Pakistan clash announced, Arshdeep Singh’s fate sealed
