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In the 2023 Asia Cup’s Super Four stage clash at Colombo, Sri Lanka secured a remarkable 21-run victory over Bangladesh, marking their 13th consecutive ODI win.
The toss was won by Bangladesh’s captain, Shakib al Hasan, who chose to field first. Sri Lanka’s innings didn’t begin well as Dimuth Karunaratne was dismissed early. However, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis steadied the ship with a 74-run partnership before Shoriful Islam ended Nissanka’s stay. Mendis, after a solid half-century, also fell to Shoriful Islam.
Subsequently, Sri Lanka lost wickets regularly, reaching 164 with half their team gone. Sadeera Samarawickrama played a remarkable innings, scoring 93 off 72 balls, helping Sri Lanka post a competitive total of 257/9 in their allotted 50 overs.
Samarawickrama’s performance was crucial in resurrecting Sri Lanka’s innings after they were in trouble at 164/5. In their defence of 257, Sri Lanka’s skipper Dasun Shanaka, Matheesha Pathirana, and Maheesh Thikshana each claimed three wickets as they bowled out Bangladesh for 236 in 48.1 overs. Towhid Hridoy was the standout performer for Bangladesh, scoring a valiant 82 off 97 balls. Unfortunately, he lacked support from his teammates, leading to Bangladesh’s defeat.
Bangladesh had a promising start to their chase with their openers contributing to a 50-plus run partnership. However, a double strike by Shanaka triggered a middle-order collapse. Despite Hridoy and Mushfiqur Rahim adding 72 runs, their partnership was crucially broken, resulting in Bangladesh falling short by 21 runs.
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