Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib Al Hasan fell tantalizingly short of their centuries, yet their partnership proved pivotal in Bangladesh's second victory at the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023. Bangladesh clinched a thrilling win over Sri Lanka, emerging victorious by three wickets with a whopping 53 balls to spare, in an enthralling contest that unfolded on a Monday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Najmul Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan orchestrated a sensational 169-run alliance for the third wicket. Their partnership was the cornerstone as Bangladesh compiled a total of 282/7 in 41.1 overs, following their successful effort to restrict Sri Lanka to 279 in 49.3 overs.
With this hard-fought win, Bangladesh propelled themselves to the seventh position in the tournament with four points, courtesy of their two triumphs. On the other hand, Sri Lanka remained in eighth place, struggling with only four wins from eight matches.
Bangladesh's chase of 280 for victory hit a stumbling block early on when openers Tanzid Hasan and Litton Das fell to the relentless bowling of Madushanka during the Powerplay. However, the early setbacks did little to dampen Bangladesh's spirits as Shakib Al Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto took charge, constructing a resilient partnership to maintain a required run rate.
As the pitch settled and dew made its presence felt, batting conditions improved considerably. The two left-handed batsmen took full advantage, scoring briskly and heaping pressure on the Sri Lankan bowlers. However, Angelo Mathews staged a comeback for Sri Lanka, dismissing Shakib with a cleverly disguised cutter that induced a leading edge and celebrated the wicket with a spirited send-off.
Mathews continued to trouble Bangladesh with some seam movement, claiming Shanto's wicket by inducing an inside edge that shattered his stumps. Just when Bangladesh seemed on the verge of victory, Madushanka and Maheesh Theekshana struck back, taking quick wickets by removing Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz's departure left Bangladesh 11 runs shy of victory, but they ultimately secured their historic first-ever win over Sri Lanka in the Men's Cricket World Cup with a comfortable margin in terms of balls to spare.
In the initial innings, Bangladesh, opting to bowl first, secured an early breakthrough as Mushfiqur Rahim displayed wicketkeeping brilliance to dismiss Kusal Perera in the very first over. Kusal Mendis, in an uncharacteristic manner, had a slow start and eventually fell to Shakib with a mistimed shot that landed safely in the hands of a fielder at mid-on.
In an intriguing turn of events, a delayed entrance by a helmet-strap-affected Angelo Mathews led to him being "timed out" as per the Cricket World Cup playing conditions, adding to Sri Lanka's woes. Despite the chaos, Asalanka and Dhananjaya de Silva formed a sturdy partnership, lifting Sri Lanka out of trouble.
De Silva's bizarre stumping saw him dismissed for 34 runs, as Rahim, in a peculiar sequence, initially dislodged the bails with his gloves, providing De Silva a second chance. However, he failed to capitalize on it. Asalanka, meanwhile, went on to craft a splendid century, with Maheesh Theekshana providing valuable support. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka couldn't launch a final onslaught, managing just 56 runs in the last 57 balls of the innings, ending with a total of 279.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 279 all out in 49.3 overs (Charith Asalanka 108, Sadeera Samarawickrama 41, Pathum Nissanka 41, Dhananjaya de Silva 34; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 3-80, Shoriful Islam 2-51, Shakib Al Hasan 2-57)
Bangladesh 282/7 in 41.1 overs (Najmul Hossain Shanto 90, Shakib Al Hasan 82; Dilshan Madushanka 3-69, Maheesh Theekshana 2-44, Angelo Mathews 2-35) by three wickets.
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