Cricket

'Itny saal bad b Bangladesh ki team nhi badli' - Fans react as Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh in second match of Asia Cup 2023

Charith Asalanka played a match-winning knock of 62 runs and helped Sri Lanka to win the match by 5 wickets to start with a win in tournament

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Daniel S
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Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh locked horns in the second Asia Cup 2023 match at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and decided to bat first. Bangladesh batters except Najmul Hossain Shanto, couldn’t sustain against the Sri Lankan bowling attack. Shanto was the one who showed resistance and contributed with the struggling knock of 89 runs off 122 balls with seven boundaries.

Other than that, Towhid Hridoy was the only batter to touch the individual mark of 20+ runs for the visitors. He scored 20 runs, alongside 16 and 13 runs scored by Mohammad Naim and former skipper Mushfiqur Rahim, respectively. Thanks to the brilliant bowling by Matheesha Pathirana, Sri Lanka bundled up Bangladesh only on the score of 164 runs in 42.4 overs.

Pathirana scalped 4 wickets at the cost of only 32 runs in 7.4 overs. Other than him, Maheesh Theekshana also claimed two wickets, alongside one wicket each picked by Dhananjaya de Silva, Dunith Wellalage, and skipper Dasun Shanaka.

Sri Lanka chased down the target after a fumble at the start

While chasing the target, Sri Lanka also faced trouble at the start as they lost their both openers only on the team’s total score of 15 overs in 3.3 overs. Furthermore, Sri Lanka lost their third wicket on the score of 43 runs in the 10th over as Kusal Mendis fell prey to opponent skipper Shakib Al Hasan.

But then came an amazing partnership for the fourth wicket between Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka. The duo stitched an impressive partnership of 78 runs and helped Sri Lanka to chase down the target of 165 runs in overs, scoring 165 runs for the loss of five wickets in 39 overs. Eventually, Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets to start their campaign with a win.

Matheesha Pathirana won the ‘Player of the Match award for his match-defining performance in favour of Sri Lanka. He claimed 4 important wickets for Sri Lanka in the first innings.

Now, the next fixture of the tournament will be a highly anticipated clash between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan at the same venue on Saturday, September 2.

Here’s how fans reacted to Sri Lanka's win in the second match of Asia Cup 2023:

Cricket News Asia Cup 2023 Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh