Deadline: July 31, 2019 at 2:30 PM IST
Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Pitch and conditions
The pitch at R.Premadasa Stadium has been a belter for batsmen. Bangladesh would disagree, for they squandered big time in both matches. For Sri Lanka, Kusal Perera and Avishka Fernando made full use of the conditions and reduced the opposition bowlers to nothingness.
Predictions
If Sri Lanka bat first, expect a big score – unless Bangladesh bowl out of their skin or Sri Lanka lose the plot. If Bangladesh bat first, they cannot go on the defensive. The only way to dent Sri Lanka’s confidence is through a counterattack.
Probable XI for Sri Lanka: Avishka Fernando, Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Kusal Perera (wk), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Isuru Udana, Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara
Probable XI for Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal (c), Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman
Fantasy team
We have opted for a fantasy team on the basis of players’ impact, recent performances, and credit points.
You can also check players’ performances in the last 5 matches. Tap on the players’ names to get the data while making your fantasy team.
My 11: Kusal Perera/Mushfiqur Rahim (c & wk), Angelo Mathews, Soumya Sarkar, Kusal Mendis, Avishka Fernando (vc), Sabbir Rahman, Dhananjaya de Silva, Mustafizur Rahman, Nuwan Pradeep, Akila Dananjaya, Mehidy Hasan
Preview
Sri Lanka are emulating what England did after their debacle in the 2015 World Cup. Dimuth Karunaratne may not be as aggressive a batsman as Eoin Morgan, but his tactics have been to attack right from the word go. In the first ODI, Sri Lanka posted 314 for 8, thanks to Kusal Perera’s 111 off 99. In the second, Avishka Fernando’s 82 off 75 helped Sri Lanka chase down 239 with 5.4 overs remaining.
Going by the momentum, Sri Lanka have the upper hand. They rocked the Bangladeshi batsmen in the absence of Lasith Malinga, and their batsmen have been attacking as if they don’t know any other style of batting.
Come to think of it, Bangladesh miss the services of Shakib Al Hasan, the No. 1 all-rounder in ICC ODI Rankings. Both openers Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar have given away their wickets early into the innings, exposing their frail middle-order. Mohammad Mithun and Mahmudullah too haven’t done anything significant. Barring Mushfiqur Rahim, no Bangladesh batsman could find his feet thus far. He followed a fighting 67 with a resilient 98*.
Mustafizur Rahman took 2 wickets in each match, but his economy reads unreasonable. Shaiful Islam took a 3-wicket haul in the first match, but he went wicketless in the second. Mehidy Hasan played a vital innings of 43 in the face of adversity, but he hasn’t been consistent with the ball – his primary job. To put things into perspective, Bangladesh’s story is articulated with ‘but’ on this tour.