Asia Cup 2023: Najmul Hossain Shanto’s knock in vain as Bangladesh slump to heavy loss against Sri Lanka

Defending champions Sri Lanka started their Asia Cup 2023 campaign on a stupendous note. On Thursday, August 31, Dasun Shanaka’s men defeated Bangladesh by five wickets at the Pallekele International Stadium.

On a difficult pitch to bat on, Sri Lanka clearly adapted to the conditions better than their opponents. The Bangladesh batters, including the likes of Naim Shaikh and skipper Shakib Al Hasan, threw their wickets away to loose shots.

Tanzid Hasan Tamim, who made his ODI debut, failed to open his account after Maheesh Theekshana trapped him plumb in front. Najmul Hossain Shanto and Towhid Hridoy put on a partnership of 59 runs to help the Tigers make a short recovery.

But after Shanaka dismissed Hridoy, Bangladesh lost momentum and got bowled out for 164. The Tigers were also let down by the fact that they were shot out 46 balls short of their quota of 50 overs.

Shanto was the only batter who played a knock of substance for Bangladesh. The southpaw came to bat in the first over and stayed until the 42nd over to score 89 runs off 122 balls with seven fours.

Theekshana was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts after he finished with figures of 8-1-19-2. Matheesha Pathirana cleaned up the tail and accounted for four scalps.

Asalanka guides Sri Lanka home

Defending 164, Bangladesh got off to a brilliant start. Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful dismissed Dimuth Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka early. Later, Shakib got the wicket of Kusal Mendis and reduced Sri Lanka to 43 for three in 9.2 overs.

From there on, Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka took charge to put Sri Lanka in a position of command. The duo put on 78 runs for the fourth wicket before Mahedi Hasan dismissed Samarawickrama, who scored 54 runs off 77 balls.

Asalanka stepped on the gas to make sure that Sri Lanka chased down the target with 11 overs to spare. The southpaw stepped on the gas to stay unbeaten on 62 runs off 92 balls with five fours and one six.

As far as Bangladesh are concerned, they need to go back to the drawing board before their must-win match against Hashmatullah Shahidi’s Afghanistan.