An extremely lackadaisical and in- disciplined fielding and bowling effort by Sri Lanka allowed Bangladesh to get to 259 at the end of their allotted 50overs.
12 extras Mr Reliable Nuwan Kulasekara erred in line with Thisara Perera joining him with some off-target deliveries causing Bangladesh to get off to a brilliant start of 6 + runs an over in the 1st ten overs.
Kumar Sangakkara taking any opportunity to be in the thick of things kept wickets coming back from a finger injury and was also tentative. Adding to the woes skipper Angelo Mathews dropped a sitter in the outfield of Tamim Iqbal which turned the course of the game as Iqbal went on to get a century. A few over-throws and fumbles generally set the tone of a most mediocre performance all round.
For Bangladesh Tamim Iqubal played a brilliant innings attacking initially and holding his end but still going on to the end whilst wickets kept falling around him.
However a disciplined wicket to wicket bowling effort by Mathews, the usual venom of Lasith Malinga and a tight spell by spinner Sachithra Senanayake helped give the home side some respectability.
Anamul Haque (13 )was first to go with total at 44/1 played on to Tisara Perera to have his stumps cart-wheeling. At 10 overs Bangladesh was 57/1.
Mohamed Ashraful continued to disappoint holding out to a diving Kushal Perera off Kulasekara at which point Bangladesh was 57/2. Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (3) got stuck in and succumbed lbw to Mathews. Mahamudullah and Iqubal put up a partnership of 63 before Mahamudullah (29 ) was removed by Mathews caught by Sangakkara behind the stumps – Score 129/4
Tamim Iqbal was run out with a sharp throw over the bails from Dinesh Chandimal for handsome 112 in 136 balls with 10 fours and 1 six balls leaving Bangladesh 205 in the 43rd over.
In the very next delivery Senanayake went around the wicket and cleaned up debutant Zaihur Rahman. Malinga was thrown at the tail and wolfed them down. He got one to climb on Sohag Gazi(6) which he lobbied gently to T M Dilshan and later Abul Hasan cleaned bowled for 3.
But at the other end Nasir Hossain 73 in 59 balls played a blistering innings heaving sixes even to Malinga. 17 runs were leaked in the 48th over with poor Kulasekara having a horrid day at work. Sri Lanka was set a mammoth 260 to win. 1/67 Kulasekara 2 /51 Malinga 2/35 Mathews 1/46 Senanayake 1/49 Tisara tells the story for Sri Lanka.
The flood lights went off in the break and overs were reduced with the new target set at 238 in 41 overs
T M Dilshan being given an ideal partner in young Kushal Perera took to marauding the Bangladeshi bowlers notching up 60 in 5 overs. Skipper Rahim introduced spin quickly which calmed this down to canter. Yet the pair continued until 106 when Sohag Gazi drew Perera forward and he was caught by Nasir Hossain for a well made 42 in 36 balls.
The Bangladeshi nightmare, Kumar Sangakkara stepped out on to the field and continued to give the visitors cold sweats. The pair put up a magnificent batting performance in partnership of 128 calmly accumulating and accelerating at the end. Sangakkara 63 in 68 balls with 6 fours departed with 4 runs to victory. Dilshan in his 15th ODI hundred, showed absolute class in an innings that initially took the opposition apart and thereafter settled in to milking the bowling. He was unbeaten on 113 in 108 balls with 11 fours.
Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets getting to the target in the 35th over.
