Confident Sri Lanka eye series win
Overview
Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, 2nd ODI
R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
28 July, 2.30pm local time, 9.00am GMT
Sri Lanka's complete performance in the first ODI marked a good start to their season post World Cup, with decisive contributions from their key players in both departments. They will realize the importance of maintaining consistency against an opposition who'll be eager to stage a fightback.
A century from Kusal Perera and three wickets from the man himself meant Lasith Malinga's final ODI was an occasion to savour for Sri Lanka.#SLvBAN REPORT 👇https://t.co/cPFxlveLzj
— ICC (@ICC) July 27, 2019
As for Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan's absence was felt. Their top order failed to click, and they found themselves at 39/4 in the 12th over, chasing Sri Lanka's 314. The bowlers too lacked discipline for much of the innings, with most of them conceding runs at over a run a ball. The Tamim Iqbal-led side will need a complete performance to keep their hopes of a first ever series win in Sri Lanka alive.
Remember the last timePowered by Kusal Perera's fluent century and nurtured by some useful contributions from other middle-order batsmen, Sri Lanka posted 314/8 in their 50 overs to set up the game. The bowlers, led by the experienced Lasith Malinga, who played his farewell match, struck at regular intervals and ensured that Bangladesh always stayed behind the required rate.
With the series at 1-0, Sri Lanka have a chance to wrap it up.
What they said **Dimuth Karunaratne:**All the boys are supporting me in the last few months. World Cup and upto here, they've given me their 100%. We're in the right path. We need to improve a few things. I think the World Cup we were quite behind batting-wise, but after the first few games we put our hands up and batted really well. We need to find the bowler to replace Malinga.
**Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh captain:**We need to regroup ourselves. Two games to go. Hopefully we can do better. The 15 I have, I'm very happy with them. We just have to keep on trusting them. They have the ability, just have to take responsibility. The good thing is we're still in the competition.
ConditionsLight winds can be expected with frequent sunny intervals in the afternoon. Several spells of showers are expected in the later part of the day. Considering recent history at R Premadasa, both captains will once again look to bat first.