Follow UsA dramatic collapse from Bangladesh in the first ODI against Sri Lanka while chasing 245 led to the hosts winning the game by 77 runs.
The Lankans were all out for 244 in 49.2 overs after batting first in Colombo, with skipper Charith Asalanka leading from the front with a splendid century, scoring 106 off 123 deliveries. Taskin Ahmed was brilliant for Bangladesh, as he picked 4/47 in his 10 overs.
Bangladesh were well and truly on their way to chase down the total, as they were 100/2 in 16.3 overs when Najmul Hossain Shanto was run out for 23. That created some panic in the Bangladeshi batting lineup, as they lost the wickets of Tanzid Hasan and Litton Das in the next over bowled by Wanindu Hasaranga.
Left-arm spinner Kamindu Mendis clean bowled Towhid Hridoy in the 19th over, and suddenly Bangladesh had lost the majority of their batting within a few minutes. Eventually, they were reduced to 105/8 with Hasaranga and Kamindu striking again in the next few overs. Jaker Ali only delayed the inevitable with his 51 off 64 deliveries as Bangladesh were all out for 167.
Speaking on the collapse, Taskin said that he was expecting Bangladesh to finish the game with five to seven overs in hand, but Hasaranga picking two wickets in the 18th created panic in the Bangladeshi batting order, which insinuated the collapse.
“I was expecting we would win with five to seven overs in hand,” Taskin said.
“Those two wickets in one over was the turning point for them. Definitely, we batted badly in the middle phase, but we had a great start with 100 runs in 16 overs. Then 100 for 2 and 107 [105] for 8 - that was very costly.
“When Jaker got set, he was batting very well. He scored a fifty. With him, if we had two or three batters left, then we could have won the match. Yes, it's accepted that we didn't bat well, but seeing two or three guys bat on this wicket, it doesn't feel like the wicket was that bad. That was our failure…we panicked a bit. We didn't play our natural game, and under pressure, we collapsed. That's how we lost this match.”
The second ODI will also be played in Colombo on July 5.