Bangladesh seal victory against Sri Lanka despite late hiccup
Bangladesh were put on the path to victory by Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib Al Hasan, who stitched together a 169-run partnership in the run chase.
Bangladesh v Sri Lanka: Match Centre, Scorecard
Chasing 280 for a win, Bangladesh lost openers Tanzid Hasan and Litton Das early in the Powerplay to Madushanka, who continued his impressive new-ball spells.
Video CWC23 06 Nov 23 05:44 Bangladesh survive late drama to beat Sri Lanka | Match Highlights | CWC23
But having raced off the blocks early, Bangladesh only needed to consolidate and Shakib Al Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto did just that forging a strong partnership to keep the run rate on par with the required rate.
The duo thwarted the Sri Lankan attack, blunting everything thrown at them and never once looked out of their comfort zone.
With the pitch easing under lights and dew in abundance, the ball came onto the bat and the two left-handers made merry, scoring at a brisk rate and piling the pressure on Sri Lanka.
Video CWC23 07 Nov 23 04:55 Skipper Shakib stars in Bangladesh win over Sri Lanka | POTM Highlights | CWC23 Player of the match highlights as Shakib Al Hasan made an impact with bat, ball and as Bangladesh captain in the victory over Sri Lanka at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023
At one point, both batters seemed to be on course for their individual hundreds, but Angelo Mathews extracted revenge for a first-innings mishap that saw him timed out. The all-rounder sent back Shakib with a cutter that found the leading edge and promptly gave him a send-off.
He went on to find seam movement with the scrambled ball and forced an inside edge off Shanto to clean him up next over.
Video CWC23 06 Nov 23 00:36 Angelo Mathews sends back Shakib and Shanto in quick succession | CWC23
With Bangladesh less than fifty runs away from a win, it didn’t seem like a huge blow until Madushanka and Maheesh Theekshana sent back Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah in quick succession.
With Mehidy Hasan Miraz chipping one to the deep fielder with Bangladesh still 11 runs away, the game got closer than they would have liked.
Video CWC23 06 Nov 23 03:29 Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka in contentious clash | Digital Daily: Episode 38 | CWC23 Digital Daily looks at Bangladesh defeating Sri Lanka during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, with former Bangladesh batter Athar Ali Khan and ICC Digital Insider Ridhima Pathak
However, they got home with more than enough balls to spare to register their first ever win over Sri Lanka in the men’s Cricket World Cup.
Video CWC23 06 Nov 23 03:31 Bangladesh survived a late collapse to complete run-chase | CWC23
In the afternoon, opting to bowl first, Bangladesh found an early breakthrough when Mushfiqur Rahim pulled off a sensational catch behind the wicket to dismiss Kusal Perera in the first over.
Kusal Mendis, who got off to a rather sedate start in uncharacteristic fashion, was dismissed by Shakib in his first over with the batter playing a mistimed stroke straight to mid-on.
Video CWC23 06 Nov 23 00:32 Mushfiqur Rahim pulls off a screamer in the first over | CWC23
Tanzim Hasan Sakib compounded their woes next over when Pathum Nissanka was cleaned up by a delivery shaping back in.
Charith Asalanka and Sadeera Samarwickrama put on the resurrection act, but things turned dramatically Bangladesh’s way in the 25th over when Samarawickrama was dismissed following which Angelo Mathews was timed out for taking too much time to walk in.
Video CWC23 06 Nov 23 03:58 Angelo Mathews timed out in rare first in international cricket | CWC23
The veteran Sri Lankan all-rounder took his time to walk in and then found that his helmet strap had broken and further delayed his entry. An appeal from Bangladesh followed and it was upheld with the Cricket World Cup playing conditions stating that a batter can be “timed out” if the batter is not “ready to receive the next ball within 2 minutes of the dismissal or retirement.”
Asalanka carried the side forward amidst the chaos with Dhananjaya de Silva offering good support and the half-century stand lifted Sri Lanka out of trouble.
Video CWC23 06 Nov 23 03:51 Charith Asalanka hundred drives Sri Lanka to good total against Bangladesh | CWC23
De Silva fell for 34 in another odd sequence of play. The Sri Lankan was stumped out despite Rahim removing the bails with his gloves first as the Bangladesh wicketkeeper could take his time and recover to remove the stumps a second time with de Silva still not making an attempt to get back.
Asalanka went on to make a fine hundred with Maheesh Theekshana aiding him but the final flourish never arrived as Bangladesh kept chipping away with wickets. They finished on 279, making just 56 runs in the last 57 balls of the innings.
Video CWC23 06 Nov 23 03:51 Charith Asalanka hundred drives Sri Lanka to good total against Bangladesh | CWC23
Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bowl first against Sri Lanka at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Sri Lanka rang in two changes with Kusal Perera and Dhananjaya de Silva coming in for Dimuth Karunaratne and Dushan Hemantha. The 1996 champions chase a win to keep their semi-final hopes alive at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
Bangladesh made a change of their own with Tanzim Hasan Sakib replacing Mustafizur Rahman.
Sri Lanka’s campaign has largely been derailed by injuries to key players but they could still snatch a place in the knockout stages with a triumph over Bangladesh at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, then another against New Zealand on 9 November.
The back-to-back victories would need to be settled by significant margins to give Sri Lanka’s net run rate a healthy boost to compete with any other teams that finish on eight points, while also hoping that Pakistan and Afghanistan lose all of their remaining matches.
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The outcome of this clash carries extra weight with a spot in the ICC Champions Trophy also on the line, as only the top eight sides at the end of the World Cup qualify for the next 50-over event in 2025.
Sri Lanka currently sit in seventh place with four points and only ahead of Netherlands on net run rate, while Bangladesh have two points with a slim margin in net run rate keeping them from bottom spot in the standings.
Bangladesh will have their backs to the wall following six consecutive defeats but showed that they can be a dangerous opponent when starting the tournament with a resounding victory over surprise packets Afghanistan.
While the semi-finals are already out of reach for Shakib Al Hasan’s outfit, a second win in the tournament would at least allow them to finish it on a high.
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Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan(C), Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam.
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis(C), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka.
Video CWC23 05 Nov 23 03:05 Dhananjaya de Silva on making an impact on the biggest stages for Sri Lanka | CWC23 All-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva is out to make his mark for Sri Lanka at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023
