Sri Lanka look to bounce back in second ODI

Mar. 14 - Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will clash in the second One Day International (ODI) at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram, tomorrow.

The visitors would aim to square the series 1-1 after losing the opener by six wickets on Wednesday at the same venue.

Bangladesh chased down their target of 256 runs successfully in the first ODI with Skipper Najmul Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim getting them home.

It remains to be seen if the series goes into the decider as Sri Lanka will be determined to bounce back.

Defending a subpar target of 256, Sri Lanka did well to reduce Bangladesh to 23 for three but then a pair of partnerships - first between Shanto and Mahmudullah and then Shanto and Mushfiqur - took the game away from the visitors.

They were assisted by the fact that their bowlers had earlier done extremely well to reel the Lankans in after a fast start and eventually bowl them out inside 49 overs.

Their seamers took three apiece while Sri Lanka's batters will be disappointed at having failed to build on some promising starts.

The two sides have met in 55 ODIs as of now, with Sri Lanka winning 42 of these games.

While Bangladesh own 11 victories, two matches were abandoned.

Notably, Bangladesh have won seven of these matches at home. They own two wins each at away and neutral venues.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have beaten Bangladesh 13 out of 15 times in the 50-over Asia Cup Cricket Tournament.

In 2021, Bangladesh won their maiden ODI series against Sri Lanka, beating them 2-1 at home. Before this series, the Lankans had emerged victorious in six bilateral ODI series. Two series ended in a draw.

Sri Lanka Squad: Kusal Mendis (Captain), Charith Asalanka, Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Janith Liyanage, Kamindu Mendis, Sahan Arachchige, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Akila Dananjaya, Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Madushanka, Pramod Madushan and Lahiru Kumara.

Bangladesh Squad: Najmul Shanto (Captain), Anamul Bijoy, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Tamim, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Miraz, Taijul Islam, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman. (Agencies)