Avishka Fernando’s stroke-filled 82, studded with nine fours and two sixes, took Sri Lanka to a seven-wicket win and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series here on Sunday.
Chasing a target of 239, the hosts won with 32 deliveries to spare. After Fernando’s assault, Kusal Mendis (41) and Angelo Mathews (52) steered the team home.
Earlier, Mushfiqur Rahim hit an unbeaten 98 to take Bangladesh to a modest 238 for eight.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mushfiqur slammed six fours and a six in his 110-ball innings to bail out Bangladesh, which lost its first six wickets for 117.
Mushfiqur and No. 8 Mehidy Hasan added 84 for the seventh wicket, a record for Bangladesh against Sri Lanka, to give the visitors’ innings some respectability.
Mehidy made 43 off 46 balls with six boundaries before he was caught by Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne at mid-off off Nuwan Pradeep.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mushfiqur went off strike in the fifth ball of the final over, missing out on his eighth ODI hundred by just two runs.
Pradeep, fellow pace bowler Isuru Udana and leg-spinner Akila Dananjaya claimed two wickets each for Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh, which lost Friday’s opening match by 91 runs, was in trouble soon after skipper Tamim Iqbal elected to bat.
Pradeep trapped opener Soumya Sarkar in front for 11 before Tamim dragged an Udana delivery onto his stump after making 19.
Dananjaya removed Mohammad Mithun for 12 and bowled Mahmudullah for six before Sabbir Rahman’s run out for 11 compounded Bangladesh’s problems.
Mushfiqur began the fightback, in the company of Mehidy, after Udana had Mosaddek Hossain caught by Kusal Perera for 13.
The third and final game of the series will be held here on Wednesday.
Vettori is spin consultant
The Bangladesh Cricket Board on Saturday appointed former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori as spin consultant and South Africa paceman Charl Langeveldt as pace bowling coach.
Vettori has agreed to work with the Bangladesh spinners up to the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.
On the other hand, Langeveldt will join the team as its full-time pace bowling coach.