Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, 2nd ODI, Dambulla – Preview

Everything has been coming together so well for Bangladesh, and it’s been happening more and more of late. In the first One-Day International of the three-match series in Sri Lanka on Saturday, it went almost like clockwork for the side.

Asked to bat first, it had one top-order batsman, Tamim Iqbal, scoring a reasonably quick century – 127 in 142 balls, and two other batsmen – Sabbir Rahman and Shakib Al Hasan – adding quick half-centuries. If that wasn’t enough, Mosaddek Hossain and Mahmudullah hit 37 runs in 16 balls between them to provide the final thrust. All of it added up to 324 runs on the board, and it was followed by a strong enough bowling performance, scoreboard pressure telling on the Sri Lankan batting line-up as it folded for 234 with 29 balls left in the chase.

It wasn’t what Sri Lanka would have wanted after the Test series ended 1-1. In ODIs, Bangladesh is a stronger outfit than it is in Tests, so the dominant performance was only to be expected. And Sri Lanka can expect more of the same from Bangladesh now in the second game, on Tuesday (March 28) in Dambulla.

It is a match the home side would be desperate to win to stay alive in the series, with Bangladesh understandably keen to carry on the good work and seal the matter with one game left.

This isn’t the best team Sri Lanka can put on the field. It would have liked to have Angelo Mathews, the regular captain, and Kusal Perera, the wicketkeeper-batsman, around. The absence of the two key players has certainly hit it hard, but with some pedigree in the batting order in the form of Upul Tharanga, the captain, Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Mendis, Sri Lanka should hope to put up decent totals, especially with hard-hitters like Thisara Perera and Asela Gunaratne to build on good foundations.

The bowling is not weak either, with Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Kumara the main pacers and Thisara and Gunaratne, its best bowler in the first game, around for back-up. The spin department fronted by Sachith Pathirana, the left-arm spinner, and Lakshan Sandakan, the left-arm wrist-spinner, is handy too.

Seekkuge Prasanna didn’t play the first game, as was the case with Dhananjaya de Silva; Sri Lanka would be tempted to tinker with its XI in this must-win game, and de Silva’s name is bound to come up.

There’s also a good chance that Nuwan Kulasekara, the veteran medium pacer, will get a look in. Although not in the original squad, Kulasekara has been drafted in along with Nuwan Pradeep and Dilruwan Perera, all of which signals towards quite a few changes.

It’s a matter of all those elements coming together, which is what happened for Bangladesh in the first game, especially in the batting.

“We wanted our batsmen to cross the 50-to-70-run mark and get a big score. It was a learning curve for us. Sabbir missed out in the last game but Tamim got to a big hundred. It makes winning easier when someone does that,” said Mashrafe Mortaza, the captain, before the Tuesday fixture. “The batsmen should learn how to convert 50-60 into a hundred, which is what big teams do. We have to learn this continuously, and ensure that we keep doing this. Finishing is also an important matter, which has helped us get to that score.”

Keeping in mind the events in the first match, where everything worked so well for Bangladesh, it wouldn’t want to make changes for the heck of it. For Sri Lanka, though, it’s a different story. The Test series is in the past. Falling 2-0 behind in the ODIs is not what it can afford as it grapples with a six-match losing sequence.

Teams (from)
Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga (capt), Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Asela Gunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Danushka Gunathilaka, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Vikum Sanjaya, Thisara Perera, Sachith Pathirana, Seekkuge Prasanna, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Kulasekara, Nuwan Pradeep, Dilruwan Perera.

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Subashis Roy, Sanjamul Islam, Shuvagata Hom, Nurul Hasan, Mehedi Hasan.