Bangladesh is fighting for a victory in the Asia Cup to advance to the “Super Four”
When Bangladesh and Sri Lanka square off in the second Super 4 game of the Asia Cup on Saturday, survival will be Bangladesh’s first priority, but Sri Lanka will want to get off to a winning start.
Bangladesh must win against the Lankans, providing the weather stays dry enough for the game to take place, after suffering a seven-wicket towelling at the hands of Pakistan in the Super 4 opener in Lahore.
Their Asia Cup campaign would almost definitely conclude with a loss. Their first worry is batting, which requires rapid attention.
In the league phase, they did defeat Afghanistan, scoring 334 for 5 on the strength of hundreds from Najmal Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
But they struggled against stronger bowling teams from Pakistan and Sri Lanka, scoring meager totals of 164 and 193, respectively.
They will be concerned coming into the match against Sri Lanka because of their tendency to falter when facing elite opponents.
Bangladesh is well aware of the high-damage bowlers the Sri Lankan team has, such Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, etc.
In a Group B league encounter on August 31, Pathirana and Theekshana’s pace-spin combo combined for six wickets, holding Bangladesh to a score under 200.
Sri Lanka is better equipped in that area, and bowler Kasun Rajitha also contributed significantly to their improbable victory against Afghanistan in the last league game of the Asia Cup on September 5 in Lahore.
Rajitha went for a lot of runs, but his four-wicket haul and the Afghans’ ignorance of the run equation allowed Lanka to win the game by only two runs.
But the hosts are not without their own concerns.
The Lankan bowlers will need a timely reminder to keep focused on the assignment after the Afghan hitters amassed 289 runs in only 37.4 overs.
Bangladesh will thus be interested to observe how well their frontline hitters perform under pressure.
However, Litton Das joined the team before their encounter against Pakistan but failed to score a lot, so they would be without Shanto, who is out of the Asia Cup due to a hamstring injury.
Due to a viral illness, Das was unable to participate in the tournament’s first game.
Therefore, they will need more runs from skipper Shakib Al Hasan, who struck 50 against Pakistan while losing but made a 32 from 18 balls against Afghanistan.
As for Sri Lanka, they will be hoping that their skipper Dasun Shanaka can perform tomorrow.
Shanaka can be a useful client with both the bat and the ball, but he has been having a quiet year. Bangladesh’s bowlers also do not have a lot to be happy about, as their hitters have consistently performed much below expectations.
They never posed a serious danger to either Pakistan or Sri Lanka; rather, Afghanistan’s desire to score runs fast sealed their fate more than any significant brilliance on the part of Bangladesh’s bowlers.
Although Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam may be annoying fans, it hasn’t yet been seen in this tournament.
Therefore, it might result in an intriguingly close match between two sides that each have their own little hiccups.
Teams:
Shakib Al Hasan is the captain of Bangladesh, along with Anamul Haque Bijoy, Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain Dhrubo, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Naim Sheikh, Shamim Hossain, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, and Tanzim Hasan Sakib.
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (captain), Pathum Nissanaka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Janith Perera, Kusal Mendis (vice-captain), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Matheesha Pathirana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushan Hemantha, Binura Fernando, Pramod Madushan.
