Sri Lanka registered their 13th straight win in ODI cricket, completing the second-longest winning streak in ODIs, beating Bangladesh by 21 runs in their Asia Cup 2023 – Super Four stage encounter played at R. Premadasa International Stadium in Colombo on Saturday.
Sri Lanka is only second to Australia, who have a 21-match win streak in 2003 as birthday boy Dasun Shanaka proved his worth as a bowler, picking up 3 wickets whilst Sadeera Samarawickrama scored his career-best, 93. Bangladesh middle-order batter Towhid Hridoy kept his side alive with a fighting 82 during their run chase of 257.
>>Photos – Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh – Super Four | Asia Cup 2023<<
After opener Dimuth Karunaratne fell cheaply when the islanders were asked to bat first, Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka added 74 runs for the 2nd wicket. Both the right-handers found it difficult to score runs at a healthy rate even though they scored 50 and 40 runs respectively. Mendis struck his 2nd consecutive fifty off 73 deliveries, whilst Nissanka took 60 balls for his 40.
Despite the slow nature of the pitch, Sri Lanka conceded all the wickets except one run-out to the Bangladesh seamers. Shoriful Islam picked up 2 scalps both of Nissanka and Mendis, whilst Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahamud took 3 wickets apiece. However, all 3 seamers conceded over 6 runs per over.
Samarawickrama, who walked in at number four, made sure that he batted positively to keep the scoreboard moving. Despite many batters struggling to play freely, Samarawickrama scored at nearly 130. His 72-ball 93 had 8 fours and 1 six. He also put up a crucial stand of 60 runs for the 6th wicket along with Shanaka before flourishing in the final few overs.
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After being 55 for none, Bangladesh lost the plot somewhat when they were restricted to 83 for 4, which was commenced by Dasun Shanaka’s twin strikes. The birthday boy removed both the openers, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Naim Sheikh off short-pitched deliveries. Slinga Matheesha Pathirana got the better of Shakib Al-Hasan once again whilst, Litton Das was snapped up by left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage as Bangladesh lost 4 top order wickets for just 28 runs.
Mushfiqur Rahim and Hridoy resurrected the Bangladesh innings, adding 72 runs before the former became Shanaka’s third scalp. Rahim made 29, but Hridoy looked in good nick, scoring 7 fours and 1 six in his 97-ball 82.
Maheesh Theekshana, who has been Sri Lanka’s go-to spinner in the death overs, trapped Shamim Hossain and the danger man Hridoy within consecutive overs to seal the game even though the tail wagged a little.
Bangladesh, who have lost two games in Super Four stage, against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, will play their final game against India on the 15th of September. Sri Lanka’s next game will be on the 12th of September against India.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | lbw b Shaiful Islam | 40 | 60 | 5 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | c Mushfiqur Rahim b Hasan Mahmud | 18 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 105.88 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Taskin Ahmed b Shaiful Islam | 50 | 73 | 6 | 1 | 68.49 |
| Sadeera Samarawickrama | c Afif Hossain b Taskin Ahmed | 93 | 72 | 8 | 2 | 129.17 |
| Charith Asalanka | c Shakib Al Hasan b Taskin Ahmed | 10 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 43.48 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Mushfiqur Rahim b Hasan Mahmud | 6 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 37.50 |
| Dasun Shanaka | b Hasan Mahmud | 24 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Dunith Wellalage | run out (Hasan Mahmud) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Mahesh Theekshana | c Mushfiqur Rahim b Taskin Ahmed | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Kasun Rajitha | not out | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | 10 (b 0 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 9, pen 0) |
| Total | 257/9 (50 Overs, RR: 5.14) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taskin Ahmed | 10 | 0 | 62 | 3 | 6.20 | |
| Shaiful Islam | 8 | 0 | 48 | 2 | 6.00 | |
| Hasan Mahmud | 9 | 0 | 57 | 3 | 6.33 | |
| Shakib Al Hasan (vc) | 10 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 4.40 | |
| Nasum Ahmed | 10 | 1 | 31 | 0 | 3.10 | |
| Mehidy Hasan Miraz | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 4.67 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammad Naim Sheikh | c Kusal Mendis b Dasun Shanaka | 21 | 46 | 1 | 0 | 45.65 |
| Mehidy Hasan Miraz | c Dushan Hemantha b Dasun Shanaka | 28 | 29 | 4 | 0 | 96.55 |
| Liton Das | c Kusal Mendis b Dunith Wellalage | 15 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 62.50 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | c Kusal Mendis b Matheesha Pathirana | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 42.86 |
| Mushfiqur Rahim | c Kasun Rajitha b Dasun Shanaka | 29 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 60.42 |
| Towhid Hridoy | lbw b Mahesh Theekshana | 82 | 97 | 7 | 1 | 84.54 |
| Shamim Hossain | lbw b Mahesh Theekshana | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Nasum Ahmed | b Matheesha Pathirana | 15 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 100.00 |
| Taskin Ahmed | lbw b Mahesh Theekshana | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Shaiful Islam | b Matheesha Pathirana | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Hasan Mahmud | not out | 10 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 142.86 |
| Extras | 20 (b 0 , lb 8 , nb 4, w 8, pen 0) |
| Total | 236/10 (48.1 Overs, RR: 4.9) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasun Rajitha | 7 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 4.14 | |
| Mahesh Theekshana | 9 | 0 | 69 | 3 | 7.67 | |
| Dasun Shanaka | 9 | 0 | 28 | 3 | 3.11 | |
| Matheesha Pathirana | 9.1 | 1 | 58 | 3 | 6.37 | |
| Dunith Wellalage | 10 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 2.60 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 4 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 4.50 | |
