Focus on batting in Naagin Derby Chapter 2

Here we go again. The first Sri Lanka-Bangladesh encounter in the Asia Cup did not live up to the expectations at all. Bangladesh went into the game as clear favourites against a lower-ranked and depleted Sri Lanka but put on a rather embarrassing performance. But the action has now moved to Colombo where it all began for the two teams.

Bangladesh will be playing a match part of a multinational tournament in Colombo for the first time since the 2018 Nidahas Trophy, where the bitter rivalry was born. 

The composition of the Bangladesh side, however, is very different now. Only five members of that team are part of the Asia Cup. Chandika Hathurusingha, who was Sri Lanka's head coach at that time, is now at the helm of the team led by Shakib Al Hasan.

Shakib and Hathurusingha will be under the pump after two below-par batting performances in the tournament. Bangladesh got bundled out under 200 in three out of their last five ODI innings and in a World Cup year, it is going to be a massive concern for them.

And they will be up against Sri Lanka, who took all 10 wickets off their opponents in 12 straight matches, a world record, and rattled Bangladesh for a paltry 164 in the last game. On top of that, they will miss Najmul Hossain Shanto, who scored 54% of Bangladesh's total in that match.

Bangladesh lost four wickets inside the first 10 overs against Pakistan in the last match and that's something they need to work on. Their powerplay run rate and attacking shot percentage are one of the lowest in the world in the current World Cup cycle and the top-order is, more often than not, failing to set good platforms.

"From a batting point of view, it was all about decision-making. We probably didn't make the right decisions at the right time for these conditions, but that's always going to be a challenge with a team that is just starting through transition," said Bangladesh assistant coach Nic Pothas.

Bangladesh have been backing Afif Hossain and Shamim Hossain at the back end to finish strong but early signs are not encouraging. This is a concern for Sri Lanka as they lack firepower too at the death. Dasun Shanaka has been leading his side well but his batting form remains a concern. Bangladesh's run rate in the last 10 this year has been 6.93 while that of Sri Lanka is 7.22.

As is often the case, the bowling decides everything in contests featuring lower-ranked teams. Bangladesh have one of the best seam-bowling attacks in the tournament. They pushed Pakistan and Sri Lanka despite not scoring enough. On the other hand, Sri Lanka's unorthodox duo of Matheesha Pathirana and Maheesh Theekshana troubled Bangladesh last game and will look to do the same in Colombo.

But to the relief of Bangladesh, the conditions there will suit them, according to Shakib. The average first-innings score in Colombo is 232. 

"When I played the LPL, the pitches were slow. If that happens, it suits us better. Hopefully, we do well in Colombo," said Shakib. 

Weather will play a big part too and the match is likely to be interrupted by rain so DLS and net run rate calculations will be important.