Sri Lanka will face Bangladesh in the must-win game of the series to save the series. Bangladesh clinched the first ODI by runs and ended their long losing streak.
Match Timings: May 25, 12:30 PM IST
Team Preview
The new skipper of Sri Lanka couldn’t see his side winning in his debut match as the captain. Bangladesh managed to hold the nerve despite the late scar from Hasaranga who scored yet another half-century and kept visitors in the game. It was his third consecutive half-century under pressure but once again, the middle-order failed to survive. Mahmudullah and Rahim put a century-stand to take hosts to 257. Rahim’s gritty knock was a delight to watch. Tamim got a fifty as well but the strike rate is slightly a big concern for him. Even he batted with a better strike rate in Test cricket.
Bangladesh’s last international win came in January 2021 when they beat West Indies in the third ODI. Since then, they lost nine matches out of ten, and finally, they ended their 10-match winless streak in international cricket. Bangladesh has to solve their things and their reliability on main players is too much. Tamim, Rahim, and Shakib are the pillars of their batting unit. Liton Das got his 4th duck of this year and his poor form is a concern. Shakib was sent to bat at number three which was a great idea and he may be useful for Bangladesh later in the format.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka made so many mistakes in the opening ODI. After picking four wickets under 100, they allowed Bangladesh to settle down and conceded easy runs in final overs. Openers got a good start but they failed to convert it into big. Someone has to play aggressive cricket. The captain failed when he took 50 balls to score 30 and later got out. The captaincy pressure was affecting his batting style. Pace-attack was not in great touch which should be an area where Arthur should improve. The Lankan side needs to catch the spark in this game. They have recently lost against West Indies 3-0 in the series and one more series loss can affect their ODI Super League preparation because their next assignment will be against India.
Pitch Report
Dhaka’s surface is nice to bat on and it looked like a decent ODI track. Wickets put pressure on hosts in the first half of the innings but sill they got 257. We have seen a total of 270-280 in the past. Spin would be effective in middle-overs.
Possible XI
Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal (c), Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman
Sri Lanka
Kusal Perera (c & wk), Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Ashen Bandara, Wanindu Hasaranga, Isuru Udana, Lakshan Sandakan, Dushmantha Chameera
Key Players
Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal
Shakib Al Hasan
Sri Lanka
Wanindu Hasaranga
Danushka Gunathilaka
