Sri Lanka were 21 for 4, and Ratnayake’s 65 off 32 balls beat Bangladesh to an Asian Games bronze
Tharindu Ratnayake hit seven fours and five sixes, then took two wickets, as Sri Lanka won the men’s cricket bronze by 63 runs in Nisshin.
Oct 3, 2026
Sri Lanka were 21 for 4 inside four overs in Nisshin on Saturday morning. They still finished with 165 for 9, and Bangladesh were bowled out for 102 in reply, so Sri Lanka took the Asian Games men’s cricket bronze by 63 runs. Two days after being dismissed for 45 by India in the semi-final, it was a result few would have backed.
Ratnayake turns it round
Sri Lanka chose to bat and lost four wickets almost straight away. At the halfway mark they had only 51 on the board. Tharindu Ratnayake then took the game away from Bangladesh, hitting 65 off 32 balls with seven fours and five sixes. Sri Lanka scored 114 in their last ten overs.
Sahan Arachchige, the captain, made 33 from 37 balls at the other end and did the steadying. Mustafizur Rahman had a bad day, with one over going for 25. Mahedi Hasan was the pick of the Bangladesh bowlers with 2 for 19 from his four overs.
Bangladesh gone inside four overs
The chase never started. Saif Hassan and Tanzid Hasan fell for ducks, and Litton Das was out for nought to a Nuwan Thushara yorker. Bangladesh were 18 for 4 after four overs, and the match was effectively over.
Their highest scorer was Nasum Ahmed, the No. 9, with 26 from 28 balls. Yasir Ali made 21 and Parvez Hossain Emon 20, but nobody stayed long enough to build anything. Thushara finished with 2 for 18, Wanuja Sahan 2 for 17, and Ratnayake added 2 for 18 to his runs.
The defeat means Bangladesh go home from an Asian Games without a cricket medal for the first time, after their women also lost their bronze match to Pakistan. Bangladesh came to Japan with something close to a first-choice T20 side and Litton as captain. Sri Lanka had left most of their senior players at home. Losing to that side, by that margin, is the sort of result that gets talked about back in Dhaka for a while.
From 45 all out to a medal
The turnaround is the story. On Thursday Sri Lanka made the lowest total of their men’s T20I history against India. On Saturday they lost four early wickets again and did not fold. Ratnayake’s innings was the difference, but the bowling backed it up, and six different bowlers took at least one wicket.
It is also Sri Lanka’s second cricket medal of these Games, after their women’s team took silver. India and Pakistan play for the men’s gold at the same ground later on Saturday.