Asalanka, Hasaranga set up Sri Lankas massive win over Bangladesh in ODI series opener
Sri Lanka rode on skipper Charith Asalanka's brilliant century and sensational bowling effort from Wanindu Hasaranga and Kamindu Mendis to hand Zimbabwe a hefty loss in the opening ODI
Sri Lanka rode on skipper Charith Asalanka's brilliant century and sensational bowling effort from Wanindu Hasaranga and Kamindu Mendis to hand Zimbabwe a hefty loss in the opening ODI of the series in Colombo on Wednesday.
Batting first, the hosts scored 244 runs and later were successful in restricting the visitors to a score of 167, winning the encounter by a big margin of 77 runs. By virtue of the win, the Lankans have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Chasing a modest total of 245, Bangladesh were well placed at 100 for 2 but what followed was a massive batting collapse that drowned them completely. From a score of 100 to 125, the Bangla Tigers lost 7 wickets which left them reeling at 125/9.
Jaker Ali stood firm on the crease adding another 42 runs before the team succumbed at 167/10. Ali scored a valiant 51 runs which included 4 sixes and as many boundaries. Apart from him, opener Tanzid Hasan smashed 62 runs off 61 balls.
All-round SL rout BAN
For the Lankans, Hasaranga was the pick of the bowlers with 4 wickets while Mendis claimed 3 wickets to destroy the batters. Maheesh Theekshana and Asitha Fernando also claimed a wicket apiece.
Earlier, skipper Asalanka smashed a score of 106 runs which included 6 boundaries and 4 sixes while wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis also added a useful 45 runs. Rest of the batters failed to contribute much with Hasaranga adding 22 runs to the team's total towards the end and Janith Liyanage scoring 29 runs.
The next match of the series is at the same venue on July 5, Saturday. Bangladesh would be hoping to draw parity in the encounter especially after going down in the Test series as well which preceded the ODIs.