(ESPN) Sri Lanka yesterday romped to a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh to go 2-0 up and claim a series win with one game left to play.
Bangladesh got off to a steady start having chosen to bat first, but when Soumya Sarkar missed a full toss from Nuwan Pradeep and was trapped plumb in front the first inklings of worry would have entered their minds. Such concerns worsened when Tamim Iqbal chopped on just a couple of overs later to leave the visitors 31/2. Mushfiqur Rahim set about rebuilding the Bangladeshi innings, but wickets continued to tumble at the other end as Dananjaya accounted for both Mohammad Mithun and Mahmudullah through changes of flight and pace.
Bangladesh fell further to 117/6, before Mehidy Hasan provided the only real support to Mushfiqur’s resistance as the pair combined for an 84-run partnership. He hit six fours in his 43, before trying one shot too many and mishit a slower ball from Pradeep to give a simple catch to mid-off. Mushfiqur meanwhile ended just two runs short of what would have been a superb century as he shepherded his side to 238/8, his 98* coming from 110 balls with six fours and one six.
It was a slow pitch, and Bangladesh would have felt in with a chance of defending their total, but any such hopes were quickly put to bed as young gun Avishka Fernando dominated an opening stand of 71 with captain Dimuth Karunaratne. After the skipper departed for 15, bowled by a quicker ball from Mehidy, Fernando combined with Kusal Perera for another fifty partnership before the opener was dismissed by Mustafizur Rahman in the 21st over for a 75-ball 82.
Bangladesh gave themselves a small glimmer of hope when Mustafizur also picked up the wicket of Perera, leaving Sri Lanka three down and needing 93 runs on a tricky surface. However, Kusal Mendis (41*) and Angelo Mathews (52*) remained calm under the pressure and their unbroken 96-run stand saw Sri Lanka home with more than five overs to spare.
Bangladesh now head into the final ODI, to be played at the same venue on Wednesday, hoping to avoid a whitewash, but if they are to do so they will need more than just Mushfiqur to score runs.
