Sri Lanka‘s unbeaten run in Asia Cup 2025 has come to an end as they went down to Bangladesh in the first Super 4 game of Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai. It was a close game where both teams fought hard but in the end it was Bangladesh who walked away with the two points and makes Sri Lanka‘s journey in the tournament complicated. There were areas where Sri Lanka fell short and we will try and ascertain three of those areas here.
Middle order crumbling in middle overs hurt Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka were put into bat by Bangladesh and started off well with their openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis the form batters coming out all guns blazing. Nissanka scored 22 off 15 balls and fell in the powerplay but Sri Lanka managed to score 53 runs in the 6 overs for the loss of one wicket. But it is in the middle phase that the Lankan lions struggled big time. Kusal Mendis was the second one to fall for 34 and then Bangladesh tightened the screws by taking regular wickets and stemming the flow of runs.
The middle order which was a soft underbelly for Sri Lanka came back to haunt them in the middle phase as they lost wickets in clusters during this phase. Kamil Mishara did not trouble the scorers. Kusal Perera made a run a ball 16 as the momentum fizzled out of the innings. Sri Lanka should be thankful to their captain Charith Asalanka who scored a brief cameo of 21 off 12 balls and more thankful to their former skipper Dasun Shanaka who played a blinder towards the end. His 64* off 37 balls propelled Sri Lanka to get to a competitive 168/7. It was not a winning score, but a competitive one at that.
Going ahead in the tournament as Sri Lanka faces must-win situations, they will want their middle order problems to be sorted and them performing as a unit in order to well against other opponents. Sri Lanka’s road has become tougher with Pakistan and India to come and so they must pull up their socks now and recover from this defeat to come back stronger in the upcoming games. They have to otherwise they will bow out of the tournament.
Lack of support in the spin department to Wanindu Hasaranga hurts Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka would still have fancied their chances of defending 168 against Bangladesh, but for that they needed their bowlers especially the spinners to come to the party. While Hasaranga did his bit and finished with 2/22, his lack of support exposed the Lankans. Dunith Wellalage who unfortunately lost his father, played this game and he couldn’t deliver the performance that was required of him. It seemed Sri Lanka had run out of spin bowling options.
Maheesh Theekshana who has played before in the tournament and is part of the squad was surprisingly left out of this game as Wellalage was chosen ahead of him. Wellalage is more of a defensive option and a batter who can bowl. But Theekshana is a better bowler and has always seen to be complimenting Hasaranga well. But for some reason, the team management left Theekshana out and paid the price. In Dubai, he would have been a handful for the others, but still he was left out of the team. Selection blunder may have cost Sri Lanka.
Going ahead in this tournament, Sri Lanka needs to get their spin bowling combination right and hope that they do well as a unit. Hasaranga was the only bowler who impressed yesterday as the rest were blowing hot and cold. So, the Lankans have to get the right combination for the conditions and hope that they do well for the side because the Lankans are now in must-win territory as every game will feel like a knockout game for them.
Inability to stop Saif Hassan and Towhid Hridoy hurt Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka managed to get rid of Tanzid Hasan early and Litton Das for 23 although it was an important knock from the Bangladesh captain. But what followed was out of syllabus for Sri Lanka. Saif Hassan came out all guns blazing at the top of the order and scored a magnificent 61 off 45 balls and giving him great company was Towhid Hridoy who scored 58 off 37 balls. The duo literally took the game away from Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka did not know what hit them and seemed to be running out of ideas totally. They did not know how to contain this duo and bowled wrong lines and lengths. Nuwan Thushara was taken to the cleaners and so was Dushmantha Chameera. Wellalage too was hit for runs and did not pick up a wicket. Only Hasaranga and Shanaka bowled well while Kamindu’s only over went for 16 runs. Apart from two bowlers, the others went the distance. It was a bad day at the office and they did not find the right lines and lengths to the two Bangladeshi batters.
Going forward, Sri Lanka needs to be more incisive in their bowling and come up with better plans in order to succeed at the highest level. They need to have multiple plans against different batters. It cannot be just one set plan. Sri Lanka will now be in must-win territory and will want to bounce back in their next game against Pakistan or else their campaign at Asia Cup will be over. It remains to be seen whether they can bounce back from this setback.
What Lies Ahead
It’s time for the second match of Super 4 stage of Asia Cup 2025 and it is a blockbuster again as India faces Pakistan in Dubai at 8 PM IST on 21st September 2025. Hopefully, the focus will be on cricket and nothing else in this clash. Can the Men in Blue make it 2 wins out of 2 against Pakistan or will Pakistan spring in a surprise?
We shall find out all the answers when these two teams meet later tonight in Dubai and here’s hoping for a close contest between the two teams.
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