Follow UsOne more victory and Sri Lanka would become only the second team after Australia (21) to win 13 consecutive ODIs. On top of that, they have bowled out their opponent in every single one of their last 12 games and would want to keep their streak alive against their arch-rivals Bangladesh on Saturday (September 9). Meanwhile, one more defeat could end Bangladesh’s Asia Cup campaign.
Shakib Al Hasan rightly said Bangladesh’s batting unit has been "hot-and-cold" after the defeat against Pakistan in the first game of the Super Fours of the Asia Cup and his batters would once again be put to test against an in-form Sri Lankan side. Dasun Shanaka and co. look sorted in almost all their departments and would start as favourites against Bangladesh in Colombo. That is if the weather permits.
Things to watch out for
Bangladesh batters struggling against pace
No team has lost more wickets (15) to pace than Bangladesh in the ongoing Asia Cup. While their batters have tackled spin quite well, Shakib and his men haven’t been able to handle pace. Bangladesh have an average of 54.7 against spin in this tournament, compared to 24.2 against fast bowling. However, they have been more aggressive against pace than spin (5.7 vs. 4.8), but that still doesn’t justify that average.
In their first match of the Asia Cup, it was Matheesha Pathirana who destroyed them with a four-wicket haul. Then against Pakistan on Wednesday, Bangladesh batters looked completely clueless against Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah, allowing them to take seven wickets between them. In fact, Mushfiqur Rahim (47.2) is the only Bangladesh batter with an average of more than 30 against pace this year.
Another problem for Bangladesh have been their opening partnership. Amongst the top-10 sides in ODIs this year, Bangladesh openers have the worst average (23.9). They have had just two 50+ opening stands in their last 19 innings in ODIs. This has been a worry for Bangladesh since 2021. They have lost two-plus wickets in the powerplay on 23 occasions since 2021, which is the most for a side in this time period.
Against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Bangladesh lost two-plus wickets in the powerplay and this set the template for their innings as they were bowled out for 164 and 193, respectively. However, when they have lost one or no wicket in the powerplay, they have had an average score of 278 while batting first in ODIs since 2021. Hence, they will have to ensure they don’t give Sri Lanka bowlers an early advantage.
Shanaka’s poor run of form
Sri Lanka have been playing impressive cricket under Shanaka, but his own form with the bat hasn’t been great. This year, the right-handed batter has managed only 223 runs in 18 ODIs at an average of 18.58 and a strike rate of 90.7. What’s more, 108 of those 223 runs came in an ODI against India in January. If you take out that knock, his average is below 10.
The Sri Lankan skipper, who was dismissed for just five against Afghanistan, has 15 single-digit dismissals in ODIs since 2021, which is the most for a top-seven batter in this period. The likes of Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis and Charith Asalanka have all been in decent form of late, but Sri Lanka would need their captain to step up and give them those fiery knocks at the end.
Pitch and conditions
The R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo will be hosting its first match of this year’s Asia Cup. In ODIs since 2021, captains have opted to bat first in all but one game at this venue. However, both teams batting first and second, have had similar success. The average first innings score here has been around 250 in this period.
The numbers for spinners and fast bowlers are almost similar. There’s not much difference in the balls/wicket, but spinners (4.9) have been more economical than fast bowlers (5.6) since 2021. What’s more, Bangladesh have a terrible record at this venue, having lost all their 11 games.
These numbers might not matter because the forecast for Saturday isn’t great and we could witness quite a bit of rain during the match.
Tactical nous
Bangladesh can’t afford to bowl spin to Mendis. The right-hander has an average of 88.3 against spin this year, which is the third-highest amongst batters with 250-plus runs against spin. In the last match against Afghanistan, where he hit 92 off 84, he scored 64% of his runs against spinners at a strike rate of 107. Though against pace, Mendis has an average of just 16.1 and a strike rate of 73 in 2023.
Shakib has been troubled by short-pitched bowling and he has been dismissed twice by such deliveries in the ongoing Asia Cup against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The left-hander averages only 14.3 against short deliveries in ODIs since 2021.
Probable XIs
Sri Lanka - Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana.
Bangladesh - Mohammad Naim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Litton Das, Towhid Hridoy, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Shamim Hossain, Afif Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud.