KANDY: Mathee, followed by Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka’s half-centuries powered Sri Lanka to beat Bangladesh by five wickets in the second match of the Asia Cup 2023.
Set to chase a modest 165, Sri Lanka chased down the total in 39 overs for the loss of five wickets to taste their maiden victory in the recently-commenced Asia Cup 2023.
The holders had a contrasting start to the pursuit as they were three down for a mere 43 runs in 9.2 overs.
Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka then anchored the run chase with a sensible fourth-wicket partnership to put Sri Lanka on the brink of victory.
Sri Lanka were in complete control before Mahedi Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan caused a stir with back-to-back strikes.
Mahedi got Samarawickrama stumped on 54 while Shakib castled Dhananjaya de Silva (2) in the next over.
Asalanka, however, stood his ground firm, and with a brief 37-run partnership with skipper Dasun Shanaka (15) steered his side to glory in 39 overs.
Asalanka top-scored for Sri Lanka with a 92-ball 62, which featured five boundaries and a six.
Opting to bat first, Bangladesh’s batting unit failed to put on a decent total on the board despite Shanto’s gutsy half-century.
The visitors got off to a dismal start to their innings as they lost three wickets inside 11 overs with just 36 runs on the board as Mohammad Naim (16), Tanzid Hassan (0) and skipper Shakib Al Hasan (5) perished cheaply.
Following the slump, Shanto was joined by Towhid Hridoy at the crease and the pair anchored the proceedings with a cautious 59-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
The duo of Shanto and Hridoy appeared to have settled down before Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka drew a much-needed breakthrough for his side in the 24th over when he trapped Hridoy lbw on 20.
Shanto was then involved in another crucial partnership for Bangladesh in their Asia Cup 2023 campaign opener when he put together a 32-run stand with experienced Mushfiqur Rahim.
The duo, however, failed to stretch their stand as Rahim fell victim to Pathirana in the 33rd over and could score a cautious 13 off 22 deliveries.
Following Rahim’s dismissal, Shanto began to lose partners at the other end at an alarming rate before he too, finally headed back to the pavilion after Maheesh Theekshana castled him in the 42nd over.
He waged a lone battle for Bangladesh in their first match of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 with a 122-ball 89 which featured seven boundaries.
Besides him, only Naim, Hridoy and Rahim managed to make it to the double figures.
Matheesha Pathirana led the bowling attack for Sri Lanka with 4/32 in seven overs, followed by Theekshana taking two wickets while Dhananjaya de Silva, Dunith Wellalage and Shanaka made one scalp each.
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