Sri Lanka drew first blood in the 3-match ODI series beating Bangladesh by 77 runs at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Bangladesh were looking good to challenge Sri Lanka and maybe get the win but a dramatic turn of events meant that the visitors were way short of the target. They had their moments but failed to close the deal. For Bangladesh to come back in the series, they need to know the reasons for their loss in the first ODI. Here are three key reasons for their astonishing defeat against Sri Lanka.
Major Batting Collapse hurts Bangladesh, losing 7 wickets for 5 runs
Bangladesh had started well in the chase of 245, which was a gettable score at the Premadasa Stadium. The bowlers did a decent job early on while the batters started decently. They had a good power play despite losing Parvez Hossain Emon relatively early. The partnership between Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Najmul Hossain Shanto was going well and was worth 71 for the second wicket. At 100/1 in 16.2 overs chasing 245, Bangladesh were well on course to win this.
That is when tragedy struck. A miscommunication led to the run out of Najmul Hossain Shanto as he departed for 23 off 26 balls. What followed was beyond imagination and utter chaos. Wickets started to fall like nine pins and players came and went in no time. Even the set batter Tanzid Hasan was dismissed for 62 off 61 balls in the collapse. Bangladesh went from 100/1 in 16.2 overs to 105/8 in 20.5 overs. They lost 7 wickets for 5 runs in 4.3 overs and the game completely turned on its head. Despite Jaker Ali’s best efforts later on with the bat scoring a valiant 51 and trying to forge a partnership for the last 2 wickets, it was not meant to be and a bridge too far as well.
Bangladesh cannot afford to have major collapses like this one in any format of the game. Yes, a team may have minor collapses from which they can recover as well, but to lose 7 wickets for 5 runs is not done and this is something Bangladesh must avoid going forward as these collapses happen far too often for them.
Inability to dislodge Charith Asalanka comes back to haunt Bangladesh
Bangladesh started well with the ball after losing the toss, reducing Sri Lanka to 29/3 inside the first 10 overs of powerplay. That is when Charith Asalanka walked in and then led from the front. Bangladesh could have gone for the kill and restricted Sri Lanka to under 200 from 29/3 but they could not do that due to Charith Asalanka playing a captain’s knock. He forged partnerships with the middle and lower middle order and took Sri Lanka to a defendable score.
Charith Asalanka first forged a 60-run stand off 77 balls with Kusal Mendis scoring 33 in that partnership. Then he forged 64-run stand off 76 balls with Janith Liyanage and scored 34 runs in that partnership. Thereafter, he put on 39 off 48 balls with Milan Rathnayake scoring 16 runs in that particular stand. He also had a useful partnership of 34 runs off 34 balls with Wanindu Hasaranga in which he scored 12 runs. He also put on 15 runs off 21 balls with Eshan Malinga scoring 10 off them. The way he played with the tail was impressive and Bangladesh could not remove him. He was eventually dismissed in the final over of the innings for 106 off 123 balls laced with 6 fours and 4 sixes to his name.
Going forward, Bangladesh has got to be more ruthless with the ball, especially if they have a team under pressure like they had Sri Lanka at 29/3. The bowling was not a big issue as they started well and bowled well in the death overs. It is the batting that is more of a concern at this stage.
Bangladesh’s Inability Against Spin, losing 8 off the 10 wickets to them
Another reason for their loss was their apparent weakness playing spinners. It was the spinners that triggered the major collapse and Bangladesh did not have idea how to play them losing 8 off the 10 wickets to spin. Emon was the only one that fell to pace as Asitha Fernando dismissed him while there was a run out of Najmul Hossain Shanto. The rest of them fell to spin either playing rash shots or being clueless against them.
Sri Lanka’s premier spinner Wanindu Hasaranga had a field day as he finished with excellent figures of 4/10 in 7.5 overs keeping the runs down and taking wickets as well. He was ably supported by part-time spinner ambidextrous in nature in Kamindu Mendis. Kamindu hardly bowls in international cricket, but yesterday he was called upon to do a job and he did a mighty fine job picking up 3/10 in 5 overs.
Maheesh Theekshana also picked up a wicket despite bowling a few no balls as he finished with 1/32 in 9 overs. The conditions were conducive to spin but one expected Bangladesh to do better against spin.
As a sub-continent team, struggling against spin is rare especially in white-ball cricket, but Bangladesh struggled big time in the first ODI and they must go back to the drawing board and work out a plan as to how to improve and comeback stronger in the next match which will be a must-win game for them as this is a 3-match series.
What Lies Ahead
Sri Lanka have gone 1-0 up in the series and will look to seal the deal in the second ODI at the same venue while Bangladesh will be hurting after losing the first game and will want to come back hard in the next match. Bangladesh had their moments in the first ODI but lost the plot due to a dramatic collapse which put them in a point of no return. The second ODI is set to be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Saturday the 5th of July.
Will Sri Lanka seal the series on Saturday with another dominant win? Or will the Bangla Tigers roar back and win the second ODI to keep their hopes alive in the series? We will find out the answer on Saturday.
Also Read: SL vs BAN : Sri Lanka Aims For Dominance Against A Resurgent Bangladesh