SL vs BAN Asia Cup 2023: Matheesha Pathirana shines in Sri Lanka's thumping win over Bangladesh
Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh in their first game of the Asia Cup 2023, breaking their own record for the best winning streak in the history of one-day internationals.
This is their 11th straight win in ODIs, which is their longest winning streak in ODIs. They beat Bangladesh, a team they have played some exciting games with over the years.
Between February 2004 and July 2004, when they won 10 matches in a row, and between December 2013 and May 2014, when they won 13 matches in a row.
Australia has the biggest win streak in ODIs. From January 2003 to May 2003, they won 21 straight games. They also bowled out the other team for the 11th game in a row, which is the most by any team in ODI history. Australia bowled out their opponent 10 times in a row in 2009-2010, which was the best before that.
Bangladesh chose to bat first, but after 10.4 overs, they were down to 36/3. Bangladesh got some short-term relief when Najmul Shanto and Towhid Hridoy worked together to score 59 runs.
The game changed when Matheesha Pathirana got rid of wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim, bringing Bangladesh's score down to 127/5. After that, no one fought back except Shanto, who scored 89 runs in 122 balls with seven fours. Bangladesh was bowled out for 164 in 42.4 overs.
Pathirana was the best bowler for SL. In 7.4 overs, he got 4/32. In his eight overs, Maheesh Theekshana got 2/19. Each of Dhananjaya de Silva, Dunith Wellalege, and Dasun Shanaka, who is the captain, took a wicket.
In the chase for 165, SL's openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka were out quickly, and the team dropped to 15/2. After Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama worked together for a short time, SL got another shock when Mendis was fired by Shakib. It was 43/3.
Then, Sadeera (54 runs in 77 balls with six fours) and Charith Asalanka added 78 runs to help Sri Lanka reach 100 and get close to winning. The reigning champions were in danger when they lost two more wickets, but Asalanka (62* in 92 balls with five fours and a six) and Shanaka (14*) helped them win by five wickets.
The best bowler was Shakib al Hasan, who took 2 for 29 in 10 overs. Each of Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, and Mehadi Hasan got one wicket.