Sri Lanka will lock horns against Bangladesh on Monday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. Although both sides have had a dismal campaign in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, they will be fighting for dignity and a better place in the points table of the cricketing mega fest.
Shakib Al Hasan failed to steer his side towards a glorious result in his last World Cup campaign while Angelo Mathews’s return to the playing XI also went in vain. Irrespective of all the factors, the Asian sides will be targeting a consolation victory.
What have they done so far?
Bangladesh started their campaign with a win against Afghanistan on October 7. However, since then, the Tigers have failed to record even a single victory. In the next match, they lost against England by 137 runs and later they suffered a defeat at the hands of New Zealand. The Men in Blue also handed Bangladesh a marginal defeat by 7 wickets.
Moreover, the series of losses has been consistent with the Tigers. After the Proteas defeated Shakib Al Hasan’s side by 137 runs, Bangladesh also became the victim of the Netherlands, who recorded a massive 87-run victory over the Asian side. Most recently, they lost against Babar Azam’s Pakistan by seven wickets.
The Sri Lankan batting line-up has been giving disappointing performances lately
After their positive run in the 2023 Asia Cup, no one expected that Sri Lanka would suffer to win a single match in the ICC Cricket World Cup. The Lions started their campaign with three consecutive defeats against the likes of South Africa, Pakistan, and Australia respectively. They recorded their first victory of the tournament against the defending champions England, by eight wickets.
After the triumph, it was expected that Sri Lanka would get on the winning ways. However, due to a series of injuries and fitness issues, the Lions have suffered numerous problems and they have also failed to record any other victory. Afghanistan defeated Sri Lanka by 7 wickets and later India limited the Lions to a humiliating total of 55 runs, defeating them by 302 runs.
Head to Head Record
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have locked horns in One Day Internationals for a total of 53 matches. The Lions have won the battle on 42 occasions while Bangladesh has only managed to ace on nine occasions.
The remaining two games between the sides have ended in a draw. Taking a look at their performances on neutral venues, Sri Lanka has dominated Bangladesh with eight wins in nine matches.
Key Players
Mahmudullah (Bangladesh): The Bangladesh batting veteran has been the only centurion for the Tigers in the ongoing World Cup. Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das were expected to play the role of anchors and lead Bangladesh but Mahmudullah has been doing the job diligently for the Tigers.
Like the skipper, he’s also playing his last World Cup and the 37-year-old is eager to leave a mark. Mahmudullah played a 111-run innings against South Africa, where the whole Bangladesh batting line-up went back to the pavilion at the score of 233 runs.
Dilshan Madushanka (Sri Lanka): After showing a couple of decent performances, the batting line-up of the Lions has been disappointing since the last few matches. Taking a look at the bowlers, they have also been provided discouraging efforts. Nevertheless, in the absence of Wanindu Hasaranga, Dilshan Madushanka has taken charge of picking up important wickets.
In seven matches, Madushanka has picked up 17 wickets with an economy rate of 6.41. Playing against India, he dismissed Rohit Sharma early and also provided a breakthrough to the side when he dismissed Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli. He can turn out to be the lynchpin behind Sri Lanka’s victory in Delhi if he keeps an eye on the economy rate.
Predicted XIs
Bangladesh: Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan ©, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis © (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananajaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka
Prediction
Sri Lanka recently suffered a morale-breaking defeat against India while Bangladesh lost against the Netherlands. However, Kusal Mendis’s side still holds the ability to overcome the likes of Bangladesh and record a win.