Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 21 runs in the Super 4 match of the ongoing Asia Cup. The Bangla Tigers are now eliminated from the race of the final. With Towhid Hridoy was their highest run scorer but he was not supported by any other batters. It was Sri Lanka’s 13th victory in a row making the second most successful team after Australia who has 21 victories in a row in ODI cricket.
Sadeera Samarawickrama shined for Sri Lanka as the defending champions scored 257/9 against Bangladesh in the Super 4 clash of Asia Cup 2023 on Saturday. Batting first the co-hosts were struggling in the first few overs as they lost their opener Dimuth Karunaratne for just 18 runs. It was a difficult track to bat on, Shanaka’s men were stuttering at 164/5, but Sadeera helped his side over the line.
Sadeera Samarawickrama helped Sri Lanka post a defendable score
Bangladesh chose to bowl first after winning the toss. The Bangla Tigers were not sure about the decision, though, as Lankans had trouble scoring in Colombo. After being asked to bat first, openers Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne put up a 34-run opening stand. Nissanka smashed 40 runs off 60 balls to extend his streak of scoring runs. Additionally, Kusal Mendis kept up his superb form with the bat. He scored a fifty and appeared to be in good shape, but he was unable to score a big individual score.
Samarawickrama formed a decent partnership with captain Dasun Shanka following the departure of Mendis and Charith Asalanka. The Lankans scored a score of 257/8 thanks to his brilliant innings of 93 runs off 72 balls. Another masterful performance came from Hasan Mahmud, who took three wickets. Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam both contributed with two each.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mohammad Naim put together a 55-run partnership for Bangladesh in their reply, but Miraz was finally bowled by skipper Dasun Shanaka for 28 runs. Bangladesh’s response got off to a respectable start. After that, no batter actually made it out, and they went from 55-1 to 83-4.
After that wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim and Towhid Hridoy stiched a partnership of 50 runs in 84 balls, but the former was unable to make his inning start count and fell for 29 runs off 48 balls. The former batter was the lone warrior for the Tigers, but he got no support from the other batters. Hridoy was eventually out when the Tigers required 61 runs off 40 balls. He scored 82 runs off 97 balls, hitting 7 fours and one six.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Srilanka will own us tbh. Like last year ??
— Piyush (@Imansuinc) September 9, 2023
They are the real fighters
— Shahid Ali (@ImShahidali55) September 9, 2023
Sri loves close games
— Sravan Kumar (@SravanK77937932) September 9, 2023
Loss today what Bangladesh is like but played good cricket. If they get a little more support from the middle order then they can survive. Big congratulations to Sri Lanka for a victory.
— Satya Prakash (@Satya_Prakash08) September 9, 2023
Well played ??
— ASHISH (@Ashish87652264) September 9, 2023
Bye bye kangladeshi
— ? ? ? ? ? ?ç?????? (@i_am_juari) September 9, 2023
Csk blood Theekshana win it for Sri Lanka
— Lynch (@CeoOfCSK) September 9, 2023
Let's pray for this team Qualify for Asia cup final.. all young players need something for cheer
— Lalit Someshwara (@LsRtforIndia) September 9, 2023
