Defending champions of Asia Cup, Sri Lanka on 9 September defeated Bangladesh by 21 runs in the first Super Four match, played at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.
Batting first, Sri Lanka scored 257 runs after losing 9 wickets in the Asia Cup 2023, all thanks to a brilliant knock by Sadeera Samarawickrama who scored 93 runs in 72 balls. Opener Pathum Nissanka (40) and Kusal Mendis (50) also contributed to the squad.
For Bangladesh, Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud proved to be the most successful bowlers, picking up 3 wickets, while Shoriful Islam took 2 wickets.
Chasing a target of 258 runs, Bangladesh openers seemed to struggle and lost early wickets. Its openers Mohammad Naim (21) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (28) did face the Sri Lankan pacers but failed to speed up the run rate.
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Both of them were sent to the pavilion by Dasun Shanaka. While Litton Das (15) and skipper Shakib Al Hasan (3) were disappointed, Towhid Hridoy (82) stood firm and gave some hope to the Bangladeshi fans.
However, in the 43.2 over, he was LBW by Maheesh Theekshana and after that, the downfall of the Bangladesh team’s batting order began. By the end of 48.1 overs, the whole Bangladesh team was wrapped up by the Sri Lankan bowlers, as they could only score 236 runs.
For Sri Lanka, Maheesh Theekshana, Dasun Shanaka, and Matheesha Pathirana clicked three wickets each, while Dunith Wellalage picked one.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the iconic R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo is all set to witness the blockbuster match between arch-rivals India and Pakistan. Both the teams are meeting in the series for the second time, as in the group stage, they had to settle with one point after the match was abandoned due to rain.
With a 90% chance of heavy rainfall predicted for 10 September, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has found itself in hot water after announcing a reserve day exclusively for the India-Pakistan Super Four match.
The ACC stated that if rain interferes, the match will continue from where it left off on the reserve day. However, the decision to allocate a reserve day only for this particular match has raised eyebrows.
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Updated: 09 Sep 2023, 11:23 PM IST
