Sri Lanka cruised to a ten-wicket victory over Bangladesh in their Asia Cup second phase match at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo today.
Opener Sanath Jayasuriya played a flawlessly brutal innings of 107 runs off just 101 balls to destroy the Bangladeshi attack and power his side to an easy victory. The left-hander was adjudged man of the match for his effort.
Earlier, Bangladesh stuttered to 190 for the loss of nine wickets after electing to bat first. Mohammad Ashraful top-scored for the minnows with 66 runs while Chaminda Vaas was the destroyer-in-chief for the hosts, taking three wickets for 31.
Bangladesh made one change to the team that lost to India by eight wickets on Wednesday, including fast-medium bowler Tapash Baisya for Tariq Aziz.
Sri Lanka made one change, resting left-arm seamer Nuwan Zoysa, man of the match in Sri Lanka's last two games, for rookie fast bowler Lasith Malinga.
Bangladeshi innings
Malinga's unfamiliar round-arm slinging action and pace off the wicket had opener Rajin Saleh foxed in the second over of the innings. The fifth ball of the over pitched in line and moved away, drawing Saleh into a drive. The resulting edge was easily held by wicket-keeper Kumara Sangakkara (6 for 1).
While Malinga looked to bang the batsmen out, Vaas did the opposite. He kept the ball up and showed the value of experience, to get a similar result as his new-ball partner. Vaas swung the ball into Bangladesh skipper Habibul Bashar (7 off 10 balls) and once the batsman was used to that the left-arm seamer got one to hold its path. Sangakkara did the rest (21 for 2).
As a bowler, Vaas has consistently proved the value of thinking batsmen out. He bowls nothing loose, knows the areas in which he can get batsmen out, and sticks to those areas.
It was a familiar tale for the Bangladeshis. Virtually every time they step out to bat, they lose early wickets and then spend the rest of the innings trying to repair the damage.
Alok Kapali, one of their more promising batsmen, was run out responding to opener Ashraful's call. Kapali was beaten for pace and movement by Vaas. Sangakkara fumbled the take, but vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene in the slips was alert and responded with a quick throw to the bowler's end as the batsmen tried to steal a bye. Kapali was stranded in the middle of the pitch as Vaas broke the stumps (23 for 3).
Thus, after the first ten overs, Bangladesh were struggling at 25 for the loss of three wickets.
Faisal Hossain, the next batsman in, played 29 deliveries to score just one run. His painful existence was brought to an end in the 17th over by Farveez Maharoof. Hossain played down the wrong line and was bowled (31 for 4).
That brought in Manjural Islam Rana. He combined well with Ashraful to give a measure of respectability to the Bangladeshi innings.
A hundred run partnership followed and though the going was slow and boundaries were hard to come, it showed the other Bangladeshi batsmen that if you can stay at the wicket runs will eventually come.
When Rana, the more adventurous of the two, was dismissed, Bangladesh had reached 131 in the 42nd over.
Rana had succeeded in hitting off-spinner Muthiah Muralitharan for four over mid-wicket, but was dismissed trying to repeat the shot, beaten by the flight and spin. He scored 43 off 84 balls with three boundaries.
Ashraful perished soon after in the quest for quick runs. He scored 66 runs off 120 balls with five boundaries and was just beginning to break the shackles when a direct throw from Tillekaratne Dilshan ended his vigil.
But the runs kept coming and at the end of their allotted 50 overs Bangladesh had reached 190 for the loss of nine wickets.
Bangladesh scored just 100 runs in their first 38 overs, but in the remaining 12 they slammed 90! That, in a nutshell, was the story of their innings. It was not about the Sri Lankan bowling, but about the way Bangladesh chose to pace their innings.
Sri Lankan innings
The result was never in doubt. And once Jayasuriya and opening Avishka Gunawardene got going, it was clear that the end would be swift.
The Sri Lankan openers put on the best opening partnership of the tournament, hammering the Bangladeshi bowlers with a vengeance that bordered on cruelty.
Former skipper Jayasuriya rediscovered his form after a lean spell in international cricket. He was back to using the strength of his powerful arms to cut and pull with elegant brutality, if one may call it that. But it was good to see him back at his best.
Bangladesh discovered that it is not only their batting but also their bowling that needs a lot of work. Jayasuriya has cut his teeth on the big fish in international cricket. Australia, India, Pakistan, England, all have borne the brunt of his lethal hitting. The Bangladeshi bowlers just did not stand comparison.
Gunawardene at the other end looked tentative to begin with. He took a little more time to find his footing and then settled in to play the perfect second fiddle.
After the initial flurry of boundaries, the batsmen cut out the risks and took the singles and twos with ease. The runs kept coming against an attack that lacked bite. One was left wondering how much longer Bangladesh will continue to underperform. Does the side really deserve its place amongst the other Test nations, its recent performances against the struggling West Indies notwithstanding.
It might be a good idea to let nations that want Test status first play with the 'A' teams of the established Test sides. It will not only help them adjust to the rigours of international cricket but also give them an idea of the quality that they will be up against.
The only clear chance Bangladesh had of dismissing one of the openers was when Ashraful running in from the sweeper's position dropped Gunawardene, then on 44. Manjural Islam was the bowler to suffer.
Jayasuriya eventually reached his 17th ODI century off just 99 balls in the 33rd over with an edge to third man. Bangladesh have helped Jayasuriya bat himself back into form and that augurs well for the hosts.
Sri Lanka clinched victory with 16.3 overs to spare, grabbing a bonus point as well. They now have 12 points after two games and are virtually assured of a place in the final.
Jayasuriya remained unbeaten on 107 with 11 boundaries. Gunawardene was not out on 64 off 100 balls with four boundaries.