It’s another bad day for Bangladesh. After losing the first game in the Super 4, Bangladesh were determined to get back to winning ways with today’s match against Sri Lanka. But the hosts gave Bangladesh no chance and secured a dominating victory in their very first game in the Super 4.
Besides, Bangladesh have tasted a second consecutive defeat in the Super 4, making their way to the Grand Finale more complicated. Indeed, it is nearly impossible for Bangladesh to play in the final of the Asia Cup 2023.
Toss: Shakib Al Hasan, the captain of Bangladesh, won the toss and opted to bowl first.
Lankan Top Order Carried the Team
Losing the toss, Sri Lanka started their batting innings with Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne. The pitch was not friendly for the batters as it was a bit slow. Therefore, the two openers didn’t take much risky shots in the first few overs.
However, 34 runs came from the opening partnership until Dimuth Karunaratne lost his wicket to Hasan Mahmud in the 5.3 overs. But Pathum Nissanka continued picking runs with the new batter, Kusal Mendis. They made a brilliant partnership of 74 runs, building a basement for the Lankans.
Pacer Shoriful Islam broke their partnership as he picked up the wicket of Pathum Nissanka in the 23.2 over. Nissanka scored 40 off 60 before leaving the crease. However, Kusal Mendis didn’t miss the half-century but couldn’t make his innings long. Shoriful Islam also got his wicket in the 25.5 over.
But the most crucial innings came from Sadeera Samarawickrama’s bat. The 28-year-old carried the team until the last. He scored an aggressive 93 runs from 72 balls before losing the wicket to Taskin Ahmed. Unfortunately, Lankan’s lower order couldn’t contribute enough. As a result, Sri Lanka ended their innings with 257 runs.
Inconsistent Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s batting lineup has been very inconsistent. The top has always failed in the Asia Cup 2023. But it seemed Bangladesh would do well as they successfully played the powerplay without losing any wickets.
But the disaster started after the powerplay. Lankan skipper broke the opening partnership of Bangladesh by taking the wicket of Mehedy Hasan Miraz. Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka was brilliant today against Bangladesh, taking three crucial wickets. However, Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pitharana also got three wickets each to destroy Bangladesh’s batting lineup.
However, Towhid Hridoy was the only warrior for Bangladesh. He tried his best to make a good impact but didn’t get enough support from his teammates. In the end, he returned to the pavilion after scoring 82 runs. The remaining batters couldn’t contribute much to chase the target. Bangladesh became all-out in just 236 runs in 48 overs. As a result, Sri Lanka won their first game in the Super 4 by 21 runs.
Score Card
Sri Lanka: 257/9 (50 Overs)
Bangladesh: 236/10 (48.1 Overs)
Result: Sri Lanka won by 21 runs.
