Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium
Bangladesh bat first with two changes in playing XI
Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first in the second ODI of the three-match series against Sri Lanka on Tuesday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
The hosts made two changes to the playing XI of the last game. Taskin Ahmed has been overlooked to pave a way for the left-arm seamer Shoriful Islam. It’ll be marked as his first ODI.
Mosaddek Hossain also got a chance in playing XI. Mohammad Mithun, who suffered a duck in the last game, has been axed.
Shoriful played two T20Is and one test earlier and bagged two and one wickets respectively. Mosaddek, on the other hand, got into the ODI playing XI for the first time since July 2019. He represented the Tigers in 35 ODIs and scored 549 runs with two fifties.
Read:Ban v SL: Tigers eye historic series win over Lions
Bangladesh now have a good chance to win this ODI series against Sri Lanka. They have never won a series against the Lions.
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal (c), Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mosaddek Hossain, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Perera(w/c), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Ashen Bandara, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Isuru Udana, Lakshan Sandakan, Dushmantha Chameera
Playing to strengths helps Mushfiqur shine against Lankans
Mushfiqur Rahim smashed an 87-ball 84 to help the Tigers post a challenging total in the first ODI of the three-match series against Sri Lanka Sunday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Riding on his bat, Bangladesh posted 257 for six after winning the toss and won the match by 33 runs.
"I stuck to my strengths and took my time. I had to keep one end safe and that's what I did. The finishing touch from Riyad and Afif was superb," Mushfiqur said after the game.
"It wasn't an easy wicket to bat on. As Shakib and Liton got out early, there was pressure. Tamim batted well and he allowed me to take my time. And then Riyad was superb. These conditions aren't ideal to play; it's not just hot, the humidity takes a lot out of you but the credit goes to our players," he added.
Mushfiqur scored 84, Tamim 52 and Mahmuduallah 54, helping the Tigers overcome the initial batting damage. And Mehidy Hasan Miraz bagged four wickets and Mustafizur Rahman took three to confine the Lankans within 224 runs and seal the game.
This series is a part of the World Cup Super League. The top seven teams of this event will directly qualify for the World Cup 2023.
Bangladesh have already played six matches of this event and won three. Sri Lanka played three matches of the World Cup Super League and lost all.
The remaining games of the ODI series will be played on May 25 and 28 at the same venue.
Batsmen shine in practice game ahead of Sri Lanka ODIs
In the lone practice game ahead of the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka at home, Bangladeshi batsmen did well.
Tamim Iqbal led them hitting an explosive 80 while Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah Riyad, Afif Hossain and Mushfiqur Rahim also have a fifty each.
Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman, who came out of a 12-day quarantine, failed to impress.
Tamim was the captain of the BCB Green while Mahmudullah led the BCB Red. Green won the game by five wickets.
Tamim won the toss at BKSP on Thursday morning and sent the Red team to bat first who posted 284 for three in 45 overs. In reply, Tamim’s 80 off 58 balls with four sixes and seven fours guided the Green team to seal the game in 41 overs as they ended on 288 for five.
For the Red team, Afif hit 64 not-out and Mahmudullah came up with 62 not-out and Soumya also hit 60 not out. All of them were retired-not out. For the Green team, left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam bagged one wicket.
For the Green team, Tamim hit 80 while Mushfiqur scored 64 not-out. Imrul Kayes, 33, Mosaddek Hossain, 38, also did well with the bat. For the Red team, Mahmudullah took two wickets conceding 29 runs while Shakib and Taijul Islam took one wicket each.
The Tigers are all set to take on Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series starting from May 23. All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Bangladesh-Sri Lanka ODI series: Tigers to play intrasquad game Thursday
Bangladesh national cricket team will play an intrasquad game Friday in Savar's BKSP – the only practice game to be played by the hosts ahead of the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka which starts on May 23 in Dhaka.
The visitors will also play a practice game at the same venue on Friday.
Bangladesh started preparing for this series on May 18. However, most parts of the first-day practice session got interrupted by the rain. However, the Tigers had a full-day practice Wednesday at the outdoor and indoor of the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
In the intra-squad match, Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal will lead the BCB Red against T20 captain Mahmududllah Riayd's BCB Green. The match will start at 9:45am Thursday.
Tamim's team includes Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mustafizur Rahman. Mahmudullah's team contains the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar and Taskin Ahmed.
Shakib and Mustafizur are set to return to the national side with the three-match ODI series. They last played for the Tigers in New Zealand earlier this year. After that, the players missed out on the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka as they took part in the Indian Premier League.
While the first match of the ODI series will take place on May 23, the remaining matches will be played on May 25 and 28. All the matches will be hosted at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Saifuddin eager to exploit home advantage
Bangladesh allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin has said that he is looking forward to doing well in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka starting from May 23 in Dhaka.
Bangladesh’s last ODI series was in New Zealand against the hosts where they lost 3-0. They failed to pose any challenge to the Kiwis. But Saifuddin believes they can overcome that failure at home.
“It was very disappointing to lose all the games in New Zealand. We failed to play according to our ability,” Saifuddin told the media on Friday during a training session at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium ahead of the series.
Also read: Bangladesh-Sri Lanka ODI series: Tigers start practising
“Now we are set to play a series against Sri Lanka at home. I hope we can do better in this series. We have been working very hard during Ramadan, and many of us are fasting as well. We lost a Test series against them recently, so it’s a good chance to do well against them in ODIs. And at the same time, there are World Cup Super League points to grab from this series. So we have to do well,” Saifuddin added.
Bangladesh are currently placed at number six at the World Cup Super League points table with six wins and as many as defeats from six games. The top seven teams of this event will qualify to the World Cup 2023 with the hosts India.
Also read: Saifuddin eying a spot in Test team
“The first ten overs are crucial to set a good foundation. So if we want to do well against the islanders, we have to take some quick wickets when we bowl first and we have to bat well when we bat first. We failed to do this in New Zealand. Now we are going to play at the familiar wicket and condition, so we have a good chance to do well,” Saifuddin added.
The 24-year-old allrounder played a total of 24 ODIs so far and bagged 34 wickets with the best of taking four conceding 41 runs and amassed 302 runs with two fifties. The allrounder played only two ODIs against Sri Lanka and failed to shine as he scored only 14 runs in two scalped a wicket.
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