SL vs BAN 1st ODI Preview: Bangladesh look to maintain momentum after landmark victory

It’s been a forgettable week of cricket for Sri Lanka. After a humiliating defeat at home against Bangladesh, the country’s media has lashed out against the national cricket team for their poor performance. Sri Lanka lost the second Test in Colombo by 4 wickets, and that has led to a sudden reality check of their cricket board.

The coaching staff as well as the players were called up for a meeting to discuss their embarrassing loss and were given an ultimatum to get the results in the upcoming matches. As for the Tigers, they are riding high on confidence following their historic victory in a landmark Test. On the back of a 259-run defeat against the hosts, Bangladesh came out all guns blazing in their 100th Test match. They were clinical and professional throughout the second Test, eventually recording their first win against Sri Lanka.

Both teams will go head to head in the first of 3 ODIs in the scenic Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium. The series will be a perfect preparation for the upcoming Champions Trophy scheduled to be played in June this year. The Sri Lankans will go into the series with a depleted squad, facing injury concerns right before Saturday’s clash. Bangladesh, on the other hand, will want to maintain their success in the shorter format of the game as well.

Focus will be on:

Upul Tharanga – With Angelo Mathews still grappling with injuries, Upul Tharanga will lead the Sri Lankan team in the one-dayers. He will be under considerable pressure to perform the role of the skipper and simultaneously deliver with the bat. However, Tharanga scored a well-constructed century against Bangladesh in the second innings of the first Test, which the hosts went on to win. He will have a job to do at the top of the order, and will also have to marshal his troops intelligently.

Mehedi Hasan – The 19-year-old off-spinner has been included in Bangladesh’s ODI squad. Leading up to the one-dayers, Mehedi was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors, bagging a total of 10 scalps in the Test series. He had also bowled fairly well against India in the only Test played in Hyderabad. The young spinner will fly to Colombo from Dhaka to join his team.

Mahmudullah – Following a string of poor performances, the middle order batsman was sidelined for the second Test in Colombo. Mahmudullah, however, showed a glimpse of his batting prowess in the warm-up match against the Sri Lanka Board President’s XI, scoring a quick-fire fifty. He remained unbeaten on 71 off 68 balls. Mahmudullah will have to contribute heavily with the bat in order to justify his place in the upcoming Champions Trophy.

Sri Lanka – Team combination

As far as the ODIs are concerned, Sri Lanka didn’t have a memorable outing in South Africa earlier this year. The Lankans were taken to the cleaners and were handed a complete 5-0 whitewash by the Proteas. With injury concerns looming over the Sri Lanka camp, the hosts will not avail the services of key players such as Angelo Mathews, wicket-keeper batsman Kusal Perera and Lasith Malinga. Perera in fact injured himself in the warm-up ODI against Bangladesh on Wednesday, and was, therefore,

With injury concerns looming over the Sri Lanka camp, the hosts will not avail the services of key players such as Angelo Mathews, wicketkeeper- batsman Kusal Perera and Lasith Malinga. Perera in fact injured himself in the warm-up game against Bangladesh on Wednesday, and was, therefore, ruled out of the first two ODIs.

However, the Lankans have no shortage of talent, and they will hope that some of their other players rise up to the occasion. Asela Gunaratne, for instance, was brilliant in the T20Is against Australia down under. Kusal Mendis is also coming into the game on the back of a fantastic 194 against the Tigers in the first Test. There’s Dinesh Chandimal of course, who adds great stability and balance to the squad.

Bangladesh – Team combination

After a historic win, Bangladesh will continue to dominate in the ODIs. Nevertheless, the team hasn’t had too many stints in the shorter format of the game. Their last ODI series against New Zealand in December 2016 ended in the Black Caps convincingly winning 3-0.

Luckily for the visitors, they haven’t been hampered by injuries. Moreover, they will draw confidence from their performance in the warm-up match. Chasing a target of 355, Bangladesh put up a good fight. Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza all hit half-centuries. Their efforts, however, went in vain as the Tigers fell short by a mere two runs.

It will be interesting to see the outcome of this series as both the teams are currently right behind each other. Sri Lanka are ranked 6 while Bangladesh are one spot behind them. Along with England, only the top 7 ODI teams will qualify directly for the 2019 World Cup. If Bangladesh can clinch all three games, they can jump to no.6 in the rankings and secure a berth in the mega-event.

Probable XI

Sri Lanka:

Danushka Gunathilaka, Upul Tharanga (C), Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Asela Gunaratne, Sachith Pathirana, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Vikum Sanjaya, Lakshan Sandakan

Bangladesh:

Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehedi Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Taskin Ahmed/Sunzamul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman

StatAttack

2013 – The last time Bangladesh played an ODI series vs an Asia team outside home was in 2013 in Sri Lanka only

2013 – Last bilateral ODI series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in 2013 in the island ended in a draw: Bangladesh 1, Sri Lanka 1, Rain 1

2014 – The last time both the teams played a bilateral series was in 2014 in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka beat them 3-0.