Half-centuries by Charith Asalanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama guided Sri Lanka to a hard-fought five-wicket win over Bangladesh in their Asia Cup 2023 campaign opener at Kandy on Thursday.
Chasing 165, Sri Lanka were off to a poor start as Dimuth Karunaratne (1) was cleaned up by Taskin Ahmed in the third over while Shoriful Islam sent back Pathum Nissanka for 14. Sri Lanka were 15/2 in 3.3 overs.
Kusal Mendis, the wicketkeeper-batter joined forces with Sadeera Samarawickrama to rebuild Lanka’s innings. Their short, 28-run partnership came to an end when skipper Shakib al Hasan cleaned up Mendis for 5. The hosts were 43/3 in 9.2 overs.
At the end of the first powerplay, Sri Lanka were 44/3, with Sadeera (19*) and Charith Asalanka (0*) unbeaten. They reached 50-run mark in 12 overs.
Sadeera and Asalanka upped the attack on Bangladesh bowlers, with the former taking the lead. The team touched 100-run mark in 21.5 overs. Sadeera reached his half-century in 59 balls and it comprised six boundaries.
Mahedi Hasan ended the partnership at 78 runs, dismissing Sadeera for 54 (77 ball) after the keeper Rahim caught him. (ANI)
