Desk Report,
Bangladesh looking for medicine for Mendis-Nishanka
Kushal Mendis and Patum Nishanka have kept Bangladesh uneasy throughout this Sri Lanka tour. Bangladesh bowlers are making special preparations to stop them.
Bangladesh looking for medicine for Mendis-Nishanka

Tarek Mahmud
Sports Editor from Dambulla, Prothom Alo
Published: 13 July 2025, 12:07
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Sri Lanka’s two top-order batsmen Kushal Mendis (left) and Patum NishankaPhoto: SLC
Has the medicine been found? Medicine to stop Kushal Mendis and Patum Nishanka.
These two batsmen have put Bangladesh’s bowlers in a state of utter turmoil in Sri Lanka. The bowlers’ unrest also means the team’s unrest. Take the first T20I in Kandy. In response to Bangladesh’s 154 runs, Sri Lanka scored 78 runs in 4.4 overs after being battered by the two openers Nishanka and Kushal. After that, Nishanka returned with 42 runs off 16 balls, but Kushal took the team close to victory before being out with an innings of 73 runs off 51 balls, becoming the man of the match.
Excluding the Galle Test, Kushal Mendis is in a great series with the bat. He scored 5 runs in one innings in Galle, and 84 in Colombo. Since then, Kushal has been unstoppable. Look at the next innings. 45, 56 and 124 in three ODIs. In Kandy’s first T20I, that 73 runs off 51 balls was the match-winning innings.
Although he batted at seven in Tests, Kushal played at the top in white-ball cricket. On the other hand, Nishanka opened in all three versions. Galle, Colombo scored two centuries in both Tests. Although he did not have a good time in ODIs (0, 5, 35), he scored 42 runs in 16 balls in the first T20I. The challenge for Bangladesh bowlers to stop these two batsmen in T20Is is greater. Because, in this version, they are starting Sri Lanka’s innings with the bat together.
These two batsmen have become two important chapters in the ‘syllabus’ of the Bangladesh team’s preparation with the last two matches of the T20I series ahead. Although the opportunity to practice on the field before the second T20I in Dambulla was only available last night, team sources said that Nishanka and Kushal were given multiple homework assignments in the hotel meeting room.
