Bangladesh on verge of knocking out of Asia Cup after SL woe
Towhid Hridoy hits 82 against SL
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Bangladesh faced a 21-run defeat against Sri Lanka in their Asia Cup Super Four clash in Colombo on Saturday despite Towhid Hridoy’s fighting 82 as Bangladesh are on the verge of being knocked out of the tournament.
Bangladesh was downed by Pakistan in their first Super Four game. With one match to go, Bangladesh need a mathematical miracle for a place in the Final on September 17.
In chasing 258, Bangladesh's makeshift opener Mehedi Hasan Miraz departed by failing to time one off captain Dasun Shanaka as he departed after putting on a 55-run opening stand with Mohammad Naim.
Miraz, who got a hundred in the tournament, saw him score a 29-ball 28 laced with four boundaries, threw his wicket away while trying to pull a short of a length delivery. His dismissal brought Liton Das to the crease.
Bangladesh then suffered a quick batting collapse as Naim, who struggled for his 46-ball 21, was finally put out of his misery when Shanaka bowled a short delivery moving away from the batter's shoulders.
Naim initially appeared to pull but then became unsure of himself, failing to provide a shot or guide his bat away from the line of the ball. His hands appeared to have stopped as the ball took a top edge off the splice of his blade and nestled inside the wicketkeeper's gloves.
Matheesha Pathirana in the 16th over leaving the Tigers in a spot of bother at three down for 73 as he dismissed Bangladesh captain Shakib al Hasan for three off seven only. Shakib got out in a similar fashion against the same bowler in the group-stage game.
Before Mushfiqur Rahim and young Hridoy made a 72 runs stand, Litton Das (15 off 24) got out on Dunith Wellalage's arm-ball as he tried to play an drive through the covers but ended up getting an inside-edge that went to the wicketkeeper.
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Mushfiq and Towhid attempted to raise hopes of a fightback in thier stand before Dunith Wellalage broke through with the wicket of Mushfiqur, who made 29.
The rest of the batting fell apart in trying to match the rising run-rate and Hridoy's lbw off Theekshana spelt the end.
Earlier, Sadeera Samarawickrama hit an attacking 93 as Sri Lanka reached 257-9 after a stuttering innings against Bangladesh.
Bangladesh elected to bowl first in their must-win game of the 50-over tournament, a precursor to the upcoming ODI World Cup in India.
Their fast bowlers stood up, with Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud taking three wickets each to check Sri Lanka's scoring.
However, Kusal Mendis (50) and then Samarawickrama made sure the co-hosts posted a fighting total on an inconsistent pitch.
Samarawickrama reached his 50 in 47 balls and accelerated in a 60-run partnership with Shanaka, who made 24, to rouse the home fans at a largely empty ground.
Sri Lanka started briskly when Dimuth Karunaratne hit Hasan for two successive boundaries but the fast bowler had him out for 18 on the next ball.
Pathum Nissanka and Mendis put on 74 runs to put the innings back on track with some sensible batting, forcing Bangladesh skipper Shakib to rotate his bowlers.
Shoriful Islam was brought into the attack and he delivered with the wicket of Nissanka, trapped lbw for 40.
Mendis reached his fifty with a boundary off Shoriful in the next over but the fast bowler had his revenge four balls later to have him caught out.
The bowlers kept up the charge, with pace spearhead Taskin getting Charith Asalanka out with a slower delivery for 10. Dhananajaya de Silva departed soon after.
Samarawickrama took on the bowlers with a string of boundaries and finished off well as he surpassed his previous ODI best of 82. He was dismissed on the final ball.
