Bangladesh made three changes, and brought back the experienced Sabbir Rahman and Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka decided to field first after winning the toss against Bangladesh in the last Group B game in the Asia Cup. Both teams find themselves in this do-or-die position after Afghanistan beat both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh quite comfortably. Afghanistan are through to the Super 4s, and the winner of tonight’s game in Dubai will join them there.
PREVIEW: The first knockout match of the Asia Cup is between two teams who suffered defeats against Afghanistan and are now left to see who out of them progresses to the Super fours from Group B. Dasun Shanaka’s Sri Lanka and Shakib Al Hasan-led Bangladesh need to sort out their batting issues quickly in order to prolong their stay in the UAE.
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Mosaddek Hossain’s unbeaten 48 off 41 gave Bangladesh a fighting chance against Afghanistan after they were reduced to 53 for 5 at one stage. Nevertheless, Shakib will be hoping for a better show from the top five, who combined to score only 35 runs in their Asia Cup opener. Sri Lanka faced similar problems in their opening match – barring 30s from Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Chamika Karunaratne, the batting performance was nothing to write home about.
The struggles that Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have experienced aren’t limited to this Asia Cup. Since July 2019, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the only two teams among the full member sides to average less than 20 with the bat. They are also the only two teams with a strike rate of below 115, a boundary percentage of less than 13, and score less than four sixes per match – highlighting the need for a major reboot in their methods with the bat.
The fast bowlers have found some help from the pitches in Dubai in the games played so far and are likely to make an impact again. It will again be a warm evening with a high of 35 degree Celsius.
