Bangladesh is all set to lock horns with Sri Lanka in the first of three-match ODI series in Colombo today (Saturday). The match is scheduled to start at 3pm.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were ready to face each other in the recently concluded World Cup but to everyone’s disappointment that match washed out due to rain. This series will be the first outing for both teams after the World Cup. Both teams are coming into this series on the back of a disappointing World Cup campaign. Therefore, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be aiming for a winning start and make a strong come back through this series.
Bangladesh appears very different to the side that played World Cup. Most of the senior, key players with the likes of ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, batsman Liton Das and all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin are notable absentness of the series. In absence of the captain the team will be led by interim skipper Tamim Iqbal. Lots of changes have also been made in coaching staff as well with former head coach Steve Rhodes and some of his other staff being axed, interim head coach Khaled Mahmud is now at the helm.
Hence, it will be a challenging task for the Tigers to topple the Lankan lions on their own soil. It will be interesting to see the team combination and how Tamim performs with added responsibility of captaincy, who had a disappointing outing in World Cup with the bat.
In the solitary warm up match against Sri Lanka Board President’s XI, Tigers won with ease. Chasing 283, the significant performance from that match was the brilliant batting of Mohammad Mithun who came at number 3, played a 100-ball 91 and guided Bangladesh to victory. Mushfiq and Mahmudullah also played useful knocks of 50 and 33 respectively. Today, a lot will depend on the batting of these three. However, openers Tamim and Soumya failed again to give a good start at the warm-up match, they need to fire on all cylinders today. Meanwhile, bowling needs improving as ace pacer Mustafizur Rahman, pacer Rubel Hossain along with spinner Taijul Islam are the key bowlers for Tigers.
As for Sri Lanka, they’ll look to give a perfect farewell to pacer Lasith Malinga, one of their most loved cricketers, in his final ODI appearance. Dasun Shanaka will replace Lasith Malinga for the two remaining matches. Once Sri Lanka used to beat Bangladesh with ease but, their outright domination was over after 2015. Even with comparatively a weaker Bangladesh side, the Lankan lions will have to give their all to win against the Tigers.
