Sri Lanka 257 for 9 (Samarawickrama 93, Kusal 50, Mahmud 3-57) beat Bangladesh 236 (Hridoy 82, Shanaka 3-28, Pathirana 3-58) by 21 runs
Whereas Samarawickrama’s innings will rightly acquire all of the plaudits, this was simply as a lot a win propped up by Sri Lanka’s ever extra spectacular bowling unit. By now, their harm travails are effectively documented; however with every passing recreation, there appears to be somebody that steps as much as take up the mantle.
This, although, was a recreation that would not have been gained if not for Samarawickrama. It was that quintessential knock the place one batter merely gave the impression to be taking part in on a special floor altogether than his team-mates. It was an innings of precision and objective; however Samarawickrama has toiled within the home circuit for a number of years to earn his probability, and after this outing, his place within the ODI facet ought to be all however locked in.
Having come into bat within the twenty fourth over, Samarawickrama performed the sport state to perfection, knocking the ball round initially whereas dealing virtually solely in singles. The truth is, up till the fortieth over, he had simply two fours to his title. By the point he was dismissed off the ultimate ball of the innings, that quantity reached eight, alongside two sixes to go together with it. Within the course of, Sri Lanka racked up 81 runs within the ultimate ten overs in what would grow to be a match-winning complete of 257.
Not that it was apparent to anybody on the midway mark – besides Samarawickrama. After his innings, he proclaimed that it was an above-par rating, the boldness in his tone suggesting an unwavering belief in his personal appraisal of the floor, which in itself provides extra advantage to his knock.
Previous to Samarawickrama’s intervention, this was a recreation that had threatened to go the best way so many different Sri Lanka batting performances had – with a fizzle on the loss of life. A 34-run opening stand adopted by a 74-run partnership between Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka had laid a stable sufficient platform by taking Sri Lanka to 103 for 1 by the top of the twenty second over.
However between overs 22 and 40, Sri Lanka scored simply 74 runs, as wickets fell at common intervals. Whereas Kusal bought a second successive fifty, he once more did not convert it into a giant rating, along with his fifty-to-hundred ratio studying 23:2.
Throughout this era, Bangladesh different their bowling choices effectively, continuously pairing tempo with spin. This meant that whereas the spinners stored one finish quiet, the Sri Lanka batters have been pressured to tackle the seamers on the different finish. This might finish in a lopsided scorecard the place every of the three Bangladesh tempo bowlers went for over six runs an over, however picked up eight wickets between them. The three spinners, in contrast, went wicketless, however none price greater than 5 an over.
Bangladesh’s innings adopted the same script, with Hridoy and Mushfiqur’s stand taking the chase deep. Ultimately, although, Samarawickrama’s innings would show the distinction. After 39 overs, the rating for either side was 173 for five. By the fortieth over, Bangladesh wanted 81 to win, the precise quantity Sri Lanka had taken off their ultimate ten.
However an innings would not be particular if it was simply replicated. Mushfiqur fell making an attempt to hit out, whereas Hridoy ran out of batters earlier than falling prey to Theekshana. A few lusty blows by the tail threatened a late twist, however by then, Sri Lanka had carried out sufficient.
