Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, Tri-series, 3rd ODI - 5 Talking Points

There was a time when Sri Lanka would enter a contest as the hot favourites to defeat Bangladesh, but what happened today was completely opposite. An absolutely appalling performance from the Lankan Lions and they were blown away at the hands of the Bangla Tigers.

To be fair, Bangladesh did enter the game as the favourites, but for them to annihilate the Lankans the way they did shows the volume of growth they’ve attained in the last few years and how much the Islanders’ have deteriorated. The hosts posted a humongous total of 320 runs on the board with contributions coming in bits and pieces. Following that up, their bowlers ran riot and Dinesh Chandimal’s men just about went past 150.

The Tigers registered a mammoth 163-run victory, much to the delight of the massive crowd that turned up in Dhaka. Lankan coach Chandika Hathurusingha, who was previously the coach of this Bangladesh side, got a taste of his own medicine in a way. Sri Lanka were bowled out for a paltry 157 thanks to a horrendous batting collapse. From Bangladesh’s “Big 3” players scoring fifties to their fast bowlers doing a fantastic job, here are the five talking points from the game.

1. The “Big 3” at their best

Touted as Bangladesh’s Big 3, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim’s contribution over the years has been terrific. Once again in this contest, the trio registered fifties to help their side post a big total. Tamim first gave them a breathtaking start as he stitched a brilliant stand with Shakib. After Tamim’s dismissal, Shakib sewed a 57-run for the 3rd wicket with Mushfiqur.

2. Lankan quicks taken for plenty

Barring Akila Dananjaya, no bowler in the Lankan attack looked competent enough to pick up a wicket. Thisara Perera did return with figures of 3/60, but that wasn’t really a convincing performance. The four seam bowlers in the side, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Thisara Perera and Asela Gunaratne, gave away 224 runs in 34 overs between them.

3. Mortaza and Shakib shine with the ball

Talk about the skipper leading from the front, Mashrafe Mortaza did exactly that. He picked up the crucial wickets of Upul Tharanga and Kusal Mendis very early in the game to almost push Sri Lanka out of the equation. Shakib was the tormentor in chief of their middle order. He got the big fishes as well, in the form of Gunaratne, Thisara Perera, and Hasaranga. To top it off he also inflicted a crucial run out of the skipper Dinesh Chandimal.

4. Record-breaking stuff!

Bangladesh recorded their biggest ever win in terms of runs in ODIs. Yes, that indeed is a colossal achievement. This was also their second highest score against Sri Lanka with the highest being 324 which they scored just 10 months ago in Dambulla. Incidentally, they never registered a win by 100 or more runs in ODIs against any of the top 8 sides barring West Indies on one occasion.

5. Horrors of 2017 continue in 2018

One of the biggest reasons for their downfall was their batsmen getting starts and failing to convert them into big scores. Something similar happened today as a lot of batsmen got into double digits with a few promising shots, but neither managed to get past the 30-run mark. This is exactly what you don’t want chasing 321 runs and eventually, they were bowled out for just 157 runs.

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