Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, 1st ODI - 5 Talking Points

After a gruelling and closely contested Test series, the action moved to the ODIs in the Bangladesh tour to Sri Lanka. The visitors had stunned the hosts in the second Test by levelling the Test series. Coming into the ODI series, they surely did have the momentum in their favour. Barring the toss, everything seemed like a merry run for Bangladesh on the day.

They started off on high with Tamim Iqbal notching up a brilliant on. He was well supported by Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat and Shakib Al Hasan. Some excellent hitting towards the final overs saw the visitors post a mammoth 324/5 in their stipulated 50 overs. The hosts could definitely not be ruled out at that stage of the match.

However, the way they went about the run chase never gave them a sniff at the chance. Wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals and the Sri Lankans struggled to get the partnerships right at the crease. Dinesh Chandimal was a lonely warrior on the pitch for the host as the Bangladeshi bowlers made merry to give the visitors a 1-0 lead in the series.

Here are 5 Talking Points from the match:

1. Tamim Iqbal blows away the Lankans

If there is a man who could proudly say that he owned this match, then it has to be Bangladesh opener, Tamim Iqbal. Tamim lost the support of his partner Soumya Sarkar early on in the innings but continued to bat in his natural flow. He got some steady support in Sabbir Rahman and then in the form of Shakib Al Hasan. Tamim went on to make quite a few records in his innings on the day.

He brought up a very well compiled century that acted as the anchor knock for Bangladesh on the day. En route his century, he became the first Bangladeshi batsman to score 10000 international runs. He was eventually dismissed in the 48th over when Lahiru Kumara got him caught by Danushka Gunathilaka on 127. His 127 came off 142 balls with 15 fours and a six.

2. Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan pile on the misery

While Tamim Iqbal played the wrecker-in-chief for the visitors on the day, there were two other gentlemen who did some more harm to the hosts too. Sabbir Rahman walked in to bat in the 5th over after the dismissal of Sarkar. He soon got into a hitting groove as he struck some lovely boundaries. It was only a matter of time that he raced past his fifty.

He added 90 runs with Tamim for the 2nd wicket before being dismissed on 54 that came off 56 balls with 10 fours to his name. His departure saw Mushfiqur Rahim perish in quick succession too. It was down to another veteran in Shakib Al Hasan to take things forward from there. Shakib scored yet another half-century and continued his good run with the bat. Shakib and Tamim added 144 runs for the 4th wicket to set the stage for a big total.

3. Sri Lankan bowlers bowl wayward lengths accompanied by sloppy fielding

Sri Lankan pacers had a lacklustre outing on the day. It can safely be assumed that the poor show by the bowlers, particularly the pacers, saw the Bangladeshi unit claw firm grip on the match. Lahiru Kumara, the young pacer who had been impressive thus far, was taken away for 74 runs in his 8 overs with an economy of 9.25. Thisara Perera was taken away for aplenty as well as he leaked 63 runs in the 8 overs that he bowled.

The only pacer to have seen an economy rate of below 6 on the day for the hosts was Suranga Lakmal. Lakmal gave away 45 runs in his 8 overs for the two wickets that the scalped. Another noticeable field of concern for the hosts was their ground fielding. Albeit they did not have any dropped catch, but the ground work looked absolutely below standard. Some sloppy fielding saw the visitors take full bounty on the day.

4. Fighting fifty from Chandimal, Perera gives a brief scare

Sri Lanka were in a spot of bother as they lost their top three batsmen cheaply. Wickets were falling at regular intervals and they needed someone to show some resistance at the crease. It was veteran batsman Dinesh Chandimal who tried to hold the fort of the sinking Lanka innings. Chandimal batted sensibly as he tried to settle at the crease.

He kept losing support as Asela Gunaratne, Milind Siriwardana and Sachith Pathirana got starts but could not captialize. Chandimal went on to score a 70-ball 59 that included 6 boundaries. His departure saw Thisara Perera take charge of the sinking ship. The task was out of hand yet Perera gave the hosts something to cheer about. He went on to score a quick fire 35 ball 55 before being the last man to be dismissed in the innings.

5. Bangladeshi bowlers share honours

While the Sri Lankan bowlers were total scatterplots on the day, the Bangladeshi bowlers made it a point to stick to their plans. They bowled tight lines and never let the opposition batsmen settle in. Mehedi Hasan, who has already been a revelation for Bangladesh in Test cricket, made his ODI debut in the match. He bagged 2 key wickets and conceded 43 runs in his full quota of 10 overs.

Skipper Mashrafe Mortaza was clinical up front with the new ball and bowled 2 maidens in his spell of 7 overs. It was Mustafizur Rahman who scalped a three-for on the day for the 56 runs that he gave away. Taskin Ahmed and Shakib Al Hasan bagged one wicket each. It was a thoroughly clinical bowling display that saw Bangladesh win by 90 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the series.