BAN vs SL: Bangladesh still at the top of ICC CWC Super League after a loss in 3rd ODI

Inspirational efforts from Dushmantha Chameera, who bagged his maiden fifer, and skipper Kusal Perera, who scored his 6^th ODI ton, evaded the clean-sweep threat that loomed large over Sri Lanka going into the third and final fixture of the series. By the end of it, however, not only did Sri Lanka managed to close the series with a 1-2 scoreline but also managed to open their account in the ODI Super League.

Having won the toss, Perera had zero hesitation in opting to bat and the decision paid off instantaneously as Sri Lanka made the best start of the series, with Perera and Gunathilaka adding 82 off just 68 for the first wicket.

Perera, de Silva guide Sri Lanka to 286

Skipper Kusal Perera’s 120-run knock, which included 11 fours and a six in all, was not chanceless. He was dropped no less than three times, including once on 99. But he ensured that Sri Lanka posted a substantial and match-winning total of 286/6, riding on each of those opportunities.

Chasing 287, Bangladesh never quite got going with Dushmantha Chameera rattling their top-order inside the powerplay. He took three wickets to quash any hopes of approaching the chase easily.

Bangladesh surrenders in chase

Once Tamim Iqbal fell in the 9^th over as Chameera’s third, all hopes, for the third time in as many games, came down on Mushfiqur Rahim. Bangladesh steadied for a while as Rahim and Mosaddek Hossain partnered for a 56-run stand, however, not getting the pace of scoring at par with the required run rate meant that the pressure kept mounting over both of them.

Chameera, meanwhile, returned in his second spell and claimed another couple of scalps to end with staggering figures of 5/16 from a nine-over spell as Sri Lanka wiped clean Bangladesh for 189, clinching the game by 97 runs. Despite a massive loss, this is the first instance of Bangladesh winning an ODI series against their Asia rivals.

Here is the updated ICC ODI Super League Points Table