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Daniel Farke had to resort to using his third-choice goalkeeper for Leeds United's last match versus Birmingham City, Kristoffer Klaesson drafted in at the last second and keeping a clean sheet to the relief of the German boss.

The Whites were left with no option but to give the unproven Norwegian shot-stopper a chance owing to Karl Darlow picking up an injury prior to the Blues clash and Illan Meslier still being suspended after petulantly picking up a red card away at Preston North End.

Locking horns with a Lilywhites player and lashing out was always going to result in Leeds' first-choice keeper being given his marching orders at Deepdale, with Farke now wondering whether the Frenchman deserves the status of being the number one in-between the sticks after such an outburst.

Transfer rumours indicate that Leeds could well swoop in for this goalkeeper from Italy amidst growing doubts, sensationally waving goodbye to Meslier in the process.

Leeds transfer latest – Bartomej Dragowski

In recent days, TuttoMercatoWeb have reported on the possibility that Leeds will sign Spezia goalkeeper Bartomej Dragowski this January, with the Polish shot-stopper allegedly eyeing up a move away from the Serie B outfit.

Leeds aren't the only club name-checked in the report from England however, with fellow Championship club Hull City also tempted to test the waters and land the 6 foot 3 keeper this month.

Previously on the books at Fiorentina, Dragowski would aim get to his career back on track if signed by Leeds and become a star at Elland Road ahead of Meslier.

The stats that show Dragowski would be a good signing for Leeds

Capped by the senior Poland side twice, Dragowski has been a reliable shot-stopper throughout his career for many different Italian clubs.

Whilst playing for Empoli out on loan from Fiorentina, Dragowski stole all the headlines when he pulled off a remarkable 17 saves in just one game versus Atalanta towards the tail end of the 2018-19 campaign – Empoli singlehandedly kept in the game by the heroic exploits of their loanee, a 0-0 scoreline somehow the final outcome.

It was a loan spell that saw Dragowski enter Empoli folklore, football talent scout Jacek Kulig even labelling him as a "superman" during his time with the relegation candidates.

In the present, however, Dragowski's game time has been cut in Serie B and so Leeds could offer the one-time Empoli monster a chance at redemption.

Leeds could sign Kamara upgrade in swoop for £9m-rated “war machine”

Leeds United could sign this top talent in January to give Glen Kamara a run for his money.

ByKelan Sarson Jan 4, 2024

When the towering stopper has played for Spezia this campaign, the 26-year-old has shown glimpses of why he was so highly regarded early into his fledging career – impressively pulling off nine saves in November for his Serie B outfit versus Cremonese.

In contrast, Meslier has struggled at points this campaign with Leeds routinely cruising in contests and then the nerves are suddenly ramped up out of nowhere due to an erratic error or lapse in concentration from the 23-year-old – who pundit Jamie Carragher previously criticised for having "no presence" in the sticks.

That was seen in Leeds' slender 2-1 win over Plymouth Argyle a few months back, Meslier unable to keep the Pilgrims out all game with Ben Waine scoring late on despite the visitors from Devon only registering three on-target efforts.

It could well be a worthwhile buy adding Dragowski to the Leeds ranks this month therefore, further bringing competition to the goalkeeper positions at Elland Road with Farke then faced with the prospect of using four goalkeepers in just one season.

Arsenal's unbeaten start to the 2023/24 Premier League season came to an end on Saturday as they were beaten 1-0 by Newcastle United in the evening kick-off. The Gunners came out the wrong side of the result at St. James' Park as Anthony Gordon's second-half strike was enough to secure all three points for the home side.

However, the winning goal was shrouded in controversy after a lengthy VAR check on three possible infringements that eventually saw the goal awarded to Eddie Howe's team.

There was an initial check to see whether or not the ball had gone out of play before a possible foul on Gabriel, and then a possible offside against Gordon. However, none of those three situations could be fully substantiated into a claim to disallow the goal and Mikel Arteta was incensed after the match.

Arteta's comments after VAR controversy at Newcastle

The Spanish tactician described the incident as "embarrassing" and a "disgrace" before going on to say that he is wasting his time as results are in the hands of other people – referees. Arteta went as far as to say that he feels "embarrassed" and is "ashamed" to be part of how the Premier League is using VAR and the technology available to decide matches, in some instances, with their decisions.

Of course, emotions were running high after a tight match that ended in defeat for the London-based outfit, and the choice of words may have been influenced by that. However, Arsenal then released a statement in support of their manager and added that PGMOL must take action to improve the standard of refereeing, as they believe that the league deserves a higher quality of officiating than it is currently getting.

Stephen Warnock slams Arsenal and Arteta

Whilst speaking on Sky Sports' Ref Watch segment, pundit Stephen Warnock ripped into the Gunners and Arteta for their reaction to Newcastle's winning goal.

The former Liverpool defender started out by questioning why the Gunners boss did not feel "embarrassed" to be involved in the division after Luis Diaz's goal was wrongly disallowed for offside against the Reds earlier this season in their 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. This point was also raised by The Mirror as they reported his previous comments about that VAR mistake that went against Jurgen Klopp's side.

The Gunners boss said that referees and VAR need to be given support and for people to understand that mistakes happen, which was a calmer and more reasoned response than the one he gave over the weekend after Gordon's goal. Warnock then went on to say that the club's subsequent statement was "distasteful" and that it should have been handled in a different way.

Whether or not any of this will lead to an improvement in refereeing or VAR standards remains to be seen, given that the Arsenal boss thinks that he is wasting his time, and it will be interesting to see how long it takes for the next major incident of controversy to take place.

ScorecardAfter they were dismissed for 88 and 85 in their previous championship game at Hove, Glamorgan’s batting woes continued at Sophia Gardens on the opening day of their game against Durham. They were dismissed for 154 from 49 .1 overs with tail ender Rory Smith top scoring with 36.Durham had no problems when they batted, with Alex Lees, who has left Yorkshire and signed a three year contract with his adopted county, leading the way to a chanceless half century. The visitors were 75 for 0 at the close, and trailing by 79 with all their wickets intact.Glamorgan were undone by the visitors’ pace attack, with Chris Rushworth and new signing Matt Salisbury sharing six wickets, as the batsmen struggled in overcast conditions.Nineteen overs were lost at the start of the day due to a persistent drizzle, and after Paul Collingwood had no hesitation in bowling first after an uncontested toss, Glamorgan were soon losing wickets against an accurate visitors pace attack.Jack Murphy was the first to go when, after scoring the opening 17 runs of the innings he was well caught low down at third slip off Rushworth, and after Connor Brown and Nick Selman- who had laboured for 26 balls and 46 minutes over his two runs- were out, Glamorgan were 26 for 3 at lunch.Salisbury, who was initially on a loan deal with Durham before signing a contract until 2020, has also played for Essex and Hampshire, and was the pick of the seamers, ending with 3 for 34 from 13 accurate overs.Kiran Carlson and David Lloyd resisted for 16 overs as they shared a partnership of 51 for the fourth wicket, before Carlson, shouldering arms to Salisbury, was bowled off stump. After Chris Cooke went for a duck, also deceived by Salisbury, much depended on Lloyd , but when Collingwood appeared with his cutters, the former England all rounder induced Lloyd to give him a return catch.Smith played an useful knock towards the end, but after Rushworth had dismissed him , Durham’s latest overseas signing, the Indian spinner Axar Patel, ended the innings by taking the final two wickets in nineteen balls.Durham had 28 overs left to bat, and although conditions might have eased, Cameron Steel and Alex Lees set off purposefully, and were seldom in any trouble against the Glamorgan pace attack. Lees was the dominant partner, driving elegantly through the offside and racing ahead of his partner.Lees reached his half century from 53 balls out of 59, which included a large proportion of boundaries -eleven-, but shortly afterwards the light deteriorated and play was called off for the day with eight overs remaining.

Virat Kohli wants to try different players in different roles as India’s tour of the United Kingdom gathers steam

The Preview by Varun Shetty28-Jun-20181:58

Chopra: Bhuvneshwar, Pandya need to do more

Big pictureThere were two particular things in evidence in the first T20I. The more obvious of them was India’s complete difference in class to their opponents Ireland. At no point, other than when catches were being dropped in both innings, did the match come close to being a contest.The second visible feature was that India were definitely in the game to experiment. The inclusions of Suresh Raina and Manish Pandey, at the expense of Dinesh Karthik – who single-handedly won them their last T20I – was the first sign of that. Sending Raina up at No. 3 (he was the only batsman other than the openers padded up during the national anthem) instead of at No. 4, that big batting void of India’s across limited-overs formats, all but confirmed this. And with only one game before the England series, we might see this experimental trend extend. Virat Kohli said at the toss that India were trying to get used to the “cool winds” in this part of the world, and more of their players might be given a chance to do that, particularly those who will be sticking around for all of India’s tour of the UK.Ireland weren’t above experimenting either. It is, after all, the time for their next generation to take over. James Shannon and Simi Singh were offered significant batting roles and that isn’t likely to change any time soon. With top-quality cricket hard to come by as the cricket world debates inclusion, they’re likely to treat this game like India would – a practice match. Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar, expected to be at the game on Friday, will have to settle for that.Form guideIreland LTWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India WWWWW
Rohit Sharma works the ball into the leg side•Cricket Ireland

In the spotlightKL Rahul is likely to get a shot at the opening position on Friday and it won’t feel any different than all the other times he’s played for India. There will remain a sense that he has to score big just to keep his place in the XI. At least among his fans. Rahul himself is no longer obsessed with perfection in the shorter formats, a reality brought about by a sensational last IPL season. More assured, more mature, the spotlight may finally be what he uses to make runs, rather than score points.After a superb season playing ODIs in India against Afghanistan last year, Andy Balbirnie’s stature as Ireland’s middle-order mainstay had grown. But he hasn’t been able to bring that reputation to bear in T20Is. Mind you, he did make 74 just a few innings ago in the tri-series in the Netherlands, but in nine other innings, Balbirnie has only 98 runs to his name.Team newsUnless they’re tempted to bring in fast bowler Joshua Little, Ireland are expected to play the same XI.Ireland (probable) 1 Paul Stirling, 2 William Porterfield, 3 Andy Balbirnie, 4 Simi Singh, 5 Gary Wilson (capt), 6 Kevin O’Brien, 7 Stuart Thompson, 8 Stuart Poynter (wk), 9 George Dockrell, 10 Boyd Rankin, 11 Joshua LittleKohli made no secret of the fact that India will be looking to rotate their squad around. This could mean wholesale changes in all departments. Rohit Sharma is expected to sit out.India (probable) 1 KL Rahul, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Suresh Raina, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Manish Pandey/Dinesh Karthik, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Umesh Yadav, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Jasprit Bumrah/Siddarth KaulPitch conditionsThere is no change expected in the pitch or conditions. It continues to be a high for Ireland, in terms of weather, and the flat pitch is expected to stay as dry as it did throughout the opening game.Stats and trivia Shikhar Dhawan is 42 runs away from becoming the sixth Indian to 1,000 T20I runs. Since June 2010, Suresh Raina has made only international fifty in this format.Quotes’We’ve already announced we will experiment with the middle order a lot. Even in the next few T20 games, even in England, we will look to throw in guys and surprise the opposition. It presents an opportunity for those lower down the order to go in and bat at the top. In the next games, we will play the guys who didn’t play today.’

“We don’t have to get ourselves up for anything. Playing in front of 9000 people in Malahide on days like this against the best T20 side probably in the world – if you cannot get up for that you cannot get up for anything else. We have got ourselves down but we will be back up Friday.”

Tom Kohler-Cadmore struck 81 off 63 balls before Fisher won a rain-reduced match with consecutive boundaries

ECB Reporters Network30-May-2018

ScorecardMatthew Fisher boosted Yorkshire’s Royal London Cup hopes as they beat Derbyshire by two wickets with a ball to spare in a dramatic North Group game at Derby.Fisher blasted an unbeaten 24 from eight balls to chase down a target of 190 in a game reduced by rain to 24 overs a side despite Ravi Rampaul’s best limited overs figures of 5 for 48.Ben Slater made an unbeaten 109 from 82 balls in Derbyshire’s 189 for 6 with David Willey taking 4 for 47 but Tom Kohler-Cadmore replied with 81 off 63 balls before Fisher won it with consecutive fours off Hardus Viljoen.Yorkshire brought in Willey who only arrived back in England from India on Monday night but his first over went for 21 as Derbyshire got off to a flier.The first five-over Powerplay cost 52 runs with Slater hooking Fisher for six to punish Yorkshire who bowled too short and wide but the introduction of Adil Rashid restored some order with Billy Godleman well caught at deep midwicket as only 20 came from the next four overs.Rashid should have had a second but Adam Lyth put down Wayne Madsen on eight at long off and the batsman celebrated by reverse sweeping the final ball of the 11th over for six.Tim Bresnan removed Madsen for 20 when he miscued a pull but after reaching 50 from 39 balls, Slater hit Liam Plunkett for three fours in the 16th over to get Derbyshire back on track.But some momentum was lost when Luis Reece collapsed in pain with an ankle injury and retired hurt at the end of the 18th over and Willey returned to bowl Gary Wilson and have Matt Critchley caught behind first ball.Willey struck again when Alex Hughes pulled to deep midwicket but Slater completed an excellent hundred off 77 balls before hitting two more fours in the final over.Derbyshire opened with Madsen’s offspin and he responded with a maiden but Adam Lyth pulled Duanne Olivier for consecutive sixes before Kohler-Cadmore did the same in Madsen’s next over.Kohler-Cadmore drove Rampaul for six but Lyth skied the seamer high to mid-on and in the next over, Willey top edged Olivier to short midwicket.Derbyshire struck a big blow in the ninth over when their former batsman Cheteshwar Pujara was lbw trying to work Critchley to midwicket and Ballance should have been caught on 11 by the substitute fielder at deep cover.It threatened to prove costly but Ballance was bowled by Olivier for 27 trying to ramp Olivier to fine leg in the 18th over and Bresnan was caught behind off Rampaul in the next over.Rampaul pinned Tattersall lbw to leave Yorkshire needing 55 off the last five overs and although Kohler-Cadmore swung the West Indian to wide midwicket, Fisher’s late assault saw Yorkshire home in the gloom.

da luck： Everton are among a host of clubs to have “called” about the availability of a “fantastic” attacking player, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Barry expected to oust Beto at Everton

da marjack bet： The Blues have completed the exciting £27m signing of Thierno Barry from Villarreal, with the Frenchman feeling like a statement signing by The Friedkin Group and David Moyes.

The 22-year-old has replaced Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Everton, coming in to battle Beto for minutes, but journalist Graeme Bailey has claimed that he will be the undisputed first-choice striker for the Merseysiders next season.

“Barry will be leading the line for Everton this season, I have little doubt. Will he start the campaign, I wouldn’t rule out Beto starting at this point, but Barry is going to be the main man long-term. Everton are so excited by this lad, he really is a great signing. There are few deals this summer that I have personally been more impressed by than this deal. We will have to see how he settles, but I don’t think it is going to take too long for him to be leading the line.”

Everton fans will hope that there are further signings to play alongside Barry, though, and a new update certainly bodes well in that respect.

Everton have "called" about £17m winger – Romano

Taking to X, Romano claimed that Everton have “called” about signing PSV Eindhoven winger Johan Bakayoko in a potential £17.3m deal this summer, with many clubs in the same boat to sell the forward who PSV are “set to sell”.

Bakayoko is a player with so much long-term potential, having already racked up a tally of 33 goals and 22 assists in 131 appearances for PSV, as well as being hailed as a “fantastic” player by football talent scout Jacek Kulig last year.

Related Better signing than McGinn: Everton holding talks over "world-class" star

David Moyes is looking to sign a midfielder or two this summer at Everton

Posts ByRoss Kilvington Jul 11, 2025

The 22-year-old also isn’t short of confidence, either, once talking up his hopes of winning the Ballon d’Or one day: “In the next five years, I want to be close to winning the Ballon d’Or. I’ll do my best and see where it can end, but I don’t want to give myself limits. I don’t want to say, ‘I remember when I won the Ballon d’Or’, or something like this. I want to keep going.”

A right-sided winger who can cut onto his left foot and wreak havoc, Bakayoko could be an ideal choice, adding similar quality to Iliman Ndiaye on the opposite flank.

Newcastle United have been put through the wringer this summer, having missed out on key attacking targets in Liam Delap, Bryan Mbeumo, Joao Pedro and now Hugo Ekitike.

However, context is important, and in the latter’s case, Liverpool have moved ahead with a bumper deal after Eddie Howe and co stood firm on their stance that Alexander Isak is not for sale.

Ekitike, valued at €100m (£85m), has handed in a transfer request at Eintracht Frankfurt as he edges closer to Anfield. Thus, Newcastle have turned their attention to Brentford’s Yoane Wissa.

However, the Magpies may be foiled once again with that one.

Newcastle lining up Ekitike alternatives

On Friday afternoon, Manchester United finally achieved a breakthrough in their long pursuit of Bryan Mbeumo, with a £71m fee agreed between the Premier League clubs.

This transfer may run counter to Newcastle’s ambitions regarding Wissa, for the Bees have already lost Thomas Frank and their captain Christian Norgaard, and thus will be loath to part with their central striker too.

Thus, Newcastle need – once again – an alternative.

Well, according to Sport BILD, Howe has lined up Napoli’s Victor Osimhen as an ambitious alternative, with the free-scoring marksman said to be one of the players who is on the Magpies’ ‘radar’.

While the £64m-rated Osimhen is the centre of talks between Napoli and Galatasaray, with whom he spent the 2024/25 season on loan, the allure of the Premier League could work in the Toon’s favour.

Why Newcastle want Victor Osimhen

Osimhen is one of the most feared and famous centre-forwards currently competing in Europe. The end of an unhappy marriage with Napoli led to his loan move to Galatasaray in the Turkish Super Lig, but who can say he hasn’t made good use of the cards dealt?

The prolific star’s meaty haul does suggest that he’s got every bit the clinical nature of Isak, with Statman Dave even commenting that he’s “the best striker on the market” right now.

With Isak’s long-term future a debatable thing, there’s a chance that Osimhen could prove to be not just a fitting replacement but an incredible upgrade. Indeed, his goalscoring consistency can be viewed across a number of years and a number of countries.

24/25 – Galatasaray

41

37

8

23/24 – Napoli

32

17

4

22/23 – Napoli

39

31

5

21/22 – Napoli

32

18

6

20/21 – Napoli

30

10

3

A title winner who is more than just a goalscoring focal point, Osimhen could be the perfect man to add another layer to this incredible Newcastle side.

Isak, a world-class striker, scored 27 goals across 42 matches last season. Osimhen, meanwhile, bagged 37 times over 41 games. Though the Nigerian competed in a division of inferior quality to the Premier League, he scored six goals across seven matches in the Europa League, including a brace in a 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Moreover, Isak’s six Champions League outings in 2023/24 yielded just the one goal, and no assists either. Conversely, Osimhen’s prolificness in the European theatre is underscored further by his record of nine goals and an assist across 17 Champions League fixtures.

And Osimhen could even emulate his positional peer in regard to movement and intelligence. As per FBref, he ranked among the top 4% of strikers across Europe last season for shot-creating actions and the top 18% for progressive carries per 90.

Ultimately, Newcastle have scored a winner by keeping hold of Isak, and in Osimhen, they could land a new number nine to challenge him for that first-choice spot, certainly proving an upgrade on the young Ekitike.

He’s Lewis Miley 2.0: Newcastle agree terms to sign "exciting" sensation

Newcastle are looking to strengthen for the present and the future

ByJoe Nuttall Jul 17, 2025

Colorado State men's basketball is promoting assistant coach Ali Farokhmanesh to the head coaching position after Niko Medved took the role at Minnesota this week, Sports Illustrated's Kevin Sweeney reported on Wednesday.

Farokhmanesh was seen as the favorite to take over the role at Colorado State. College basketball fans may remember him as the March Madness legend who hit a buzzer-beating three to sink No. 1 seed Kansas in the 2010 NCAA tournament with Northern Iowa.

The Rams' 2024-25 season came to an end on Sunday night when they lost to Maryland on a thrilling buzzer-beater.

This will be Farokhmanesh's first time working as a head coach.

He started his coaching career at Nebraska in 2014 as a graduate assistant, and was later promoted in '16 to the role of Director of Player Development for the Huskers. Farokhmaneh joined Medved in '17 at Drake, followed him to Colorado State the next year, and has been on his staff ever since. This past season, Farokhmanesh served as the program's offensive coordinator and was Medved's top recruiter.

Conference tournaments are underway, and Selection Sunday is less than two weeks away. It’s put-up-or-shut-up time for teams looking to punch their tickets to the NCAA tournament, and every game seems to have huge implications. After one of the best weekends of the season, here’s a look at ’s projected bracket on the final day of February.

ON THE BUBBLE:Last Four Byes

Nevada
Memphis
West Virginia
Auburn

Last Four In

Boise State
Mississippi State
Arizona State
Wisconsin

First Four Out

Utah State
North Carolina
Oklahoma State
Clemson

Next Four Out

Michigan
Texas Tech
Penn State
Oregon

The big winner of the weekend was Arizona State, which vaulted itself into the field with its stunning upset of Arizona in Tucson. The Sun Devils’ place in the field is still tenuous, but ASU gets two more big opportunities this weekend on the road at UCLA and USC; one win would put Arizona State in a strong position to go dancing.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma State was a major loser of the weekend, dropping a pair of home games to fall to just 16–14 on the season. The losses essentially set up a must-win game on the road at Texas Tech on Saturday (considering the fact that no team has ever gotten an at-large bid with 16 losses). A loss there, and the Cowboys are likely in autobid-or-bust mode.

Litton and Shamim bring the power with the bat before Rishad and the seamers skittle the hosts

Madushka Balasuriya13-Jul-2025
Bangladesh snapped their six-game losing streak in dominant fashion as they handed Sri Lanka a 83-run defeat in front of a packed house in Dambulla, and with it levelled the three match series 1-1.Litton Das’ 76 off 50 – he put to rest a 13-match run without a fifty – headlined Bangladesh’s innings, but it was Shamim Hossain’s destructive 48 off 27 that shifted the winds in Bangladesh’s favour.Chasing 178, Sri Lanka’s top order failed to fire – unlike in Kandy – and an excellent Bangladesh effort with the ball and in the field ensured the Sri Lanka middle and lower order were not able to bail them out either.To the crowd’s credit they hung around as wicket after wicket fell, but as early as the 12th over the droves began to filter out, as the last recognised batter – Dasun Shanaka – fell with just 73 runs on the board. Sri Lanka’s innings lasted just 15.2 overs.The Shamim showIt was the 12th over of the Bangladesh innings that shifted the game in the visitors’ favour, as it brought Shamim to the crease earlier than might have initially been planned. At the time though, the innings looked anything but redeemable.The openers had thrown their wickets away in what might be described as cosplay efforts of aggression on a good batting surface, while Litton and Towhid Hridoy’s efforts at consolidation had helped their side avert a collapse.However, when Towhid sliced one to short third and Mehidy Hasan Miraz scooped another to short fine leg, it looked as if all that consolidation had gone to waste. But Shamim’s entry changed the dynamics of the innings, and indeed the game.Off just second ball he faced he cut one away from close to the stumps. A couple of deliveries later the pace was taken off, but Shamim responded with a bat swing that was even more rapid. Shamim’s next boundaries came against Sri Lanka’s death-bowling specialists – three off Nuwan Thushara, and one each off Maheesh Theekshana and Binura Fernando.But the expert ball-striking and placement was only a small part of Shamim’s innings. Across his 27 deliveries faced, only five were dots. Shamim was then at the heart of disrupting Sri Lanka’s chase, effecting the run out of Kusal Mendis and holding on to running catch in the deep to remove Avishka Fernando.His energy was infectious, and even if his eagerness for singles might have eventually led to his – and Jaker Ali’s – downfall in the final over as they sought to steal runs to the keeper, the momentum he had created would create the conditions for Bangladesh’s ultimate victory.Litton’s lifelinesLitton hadn’t come into this game in any great form. He’d scored a pair of 40s this year, but his last 50-plus score in T20Is had come all the way back in June 2024. Even his coach had to acknowledge prior to the game that his skipper wasn’t in the best of form.So, when Litton sauntered down the track and missed a wide one from Jeffrey Vandersay, it seemed inevitable that lean run was destined to continue. Kusal Mendis, however, was unable to gather this wide legbreak that spun even wider, and Litton survived. He was on 30 at the time.Had he fallen then, perhaps Sri Lanka might have pressed home their advantage further. But in reality, the more painful missed chance came some six overs later, with Litton shanking an attempted sweep on 56, only to be dropped by Theekshana at mid-off in the 16th over.By the time Theekshana had dismissed Litton three overs later, he had added a further 20 runs to his total and the momentum had decidedly shifted in Bangladesh’s favour.SL’s middle order fails the testIn the first T20I, the chase was effectively killed inside the powerplay by the sheer belligerence of Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka. In those two, Sri Lanka have power-hitters to rival some of the best in the world, but the question lingered around the capabilities of the rest of the batting.In Dambulla, that question was put to the test. Kusal was run out early, and some tight bowling by Bangladesh’s revamped bowling attack – both Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam were drafted in for this game – meant Nissanka was kept quiet for long periods before eventually falling tamely.But at the first time of asking this series, the collective grade was a resounding ‘F’. None of Avishka Fernando, Kusal Perera or Charith Asalanka were able to provide the sort of counterpunch demanded in such scenarios. Though the lower-order enforcers in Chamika Karunaratne and Shanaka fared little better, the chase was always beyond Sri Lanka’s reach. Such was Bangladesh’s hold on the game.