Bowlers fight but Bangladesh lose their Asia Cup opener against Sri Lanka by five wickets

It was a topsy-turvy affair with Bangladesh's bowlers giving them a sniff of an unlikely win, but Sri Lanka's batters held their composure to get over the line with five wickets in hand in the second group stage match of the Asia Cup 2023.

Batting first, Bangladesh failed miserably as they were bundled out for 164 in 42.4 overs and in reply, Sri Lanka reached the target with 11 overs to spare at Pallekele on Thursday.

Bangladesh ODI captain Shakib Al Hasan bemoaned not having enough runs on the board at the end of the match in the post-match interview.

"Yes, it was not a 300 wicket, but we needed 220-230 runs to make a game. (Responsibility of his batting with no Tamim and Litton) Yes more responsibility, I couldn't do it, but as a batting effort we didn't do well. We have a big game coming up. When they are 30 down for 3, we knew we needed a couple of more wickets, but unfortunately we didn't get that. Bowlers and spinners have been doing their bit for a long time now, just not enough runs on the board. There are lot of nerves when we started the game but as we kept on batting, in the 20th over, we felt lot more comfortable. This is the first time playing Asia Cup and in away conditions."

For Sri Lanka, half-centuries from Sadeera Samarawickrama (55 runs from 77 balls) and Charith Asalanka (not out on 62 from 92 balls) guided them home.

Samarawickrama was happy to be on the winning side after the match. 

"We were two wickets down early so my plan was to bat positive but also continue my batting because we needed partnerships. Batting was not easy on this wicket - we saw for both teams. Spinning and bit slow to fast bowlers but I just backed myself. That's it. I have always backed my strength, that's my strength in batting. I work hard for that, so any situation I back these shots."

Earlier, Bangladesh struggled with the bat and the lone warrior for them was Najmul Hossain Shanto.

The southpaw missed his second ODI hundred but 89 off 122 balls was easily the only positive for Bangladesh. 

Sri Lanka dominated the proceedings right from the word go after being asked to bowl first. There were no big partnerships, no big score, or no sight of domination of the least from Bangladesh. 

Debutant Tanzid Hasan Tamim had a debut to forget. He departed in the second over for a duck. The spin of Maheesh Theekshana honestly looked mysterious to him as he was trapped LBW facing the very second delivery of his international career. The 'new' Tamim looked, and he actually was clueless.

Naim Sheikh struggled too. He played his career-best innings (16), yes, but he never looked comfortable. His 16-run innings of 25 balls consisted of 15 dot balls and three boundaries.

Shanto came in at number three. He survived an early scare but looked the most comfortable of all batters for his 89. He saw six batters getting out from the other end but he kept on fighting. His innings consisted of seven boundaries at a strike rate of 72.95. 

No other bat got a go. Towhid Hridoy's 20 off 41 balls was the second-highest score for the struggling batting side. Mushfiqur Rahim was the only other bat to get past the 10-run mark.

Seven batters got out for single digit mark and three of them went for a duck.

For Sri Lanka, Matheesha Pathirana picked up four wickets for 32 runs while mysterious Theekshana bagged a brace.