Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI Tips & Preview – Bangladesh Aiming To Exploit Sri Lanka’s Vulnerability

In a T20 World Cup year, it’s rather odd to see a three-match ODI series sandwiched between T20Is and two Tests. The format is, as such, fighting for relevance, so you have to wonder if it would’ve made better commercial sense to schedule two more T20Is to make it a five-match series. Unfortunately, cricket’s tryst with rigidity has both sides fighting their own battles in a format that currently has few takers.

His talent was never in doubt from the time he broke through in Under-19 cricket in 2016. Now, he has married talent with consistency. And it’s during this upswing that captaincy has come his way. For the moment, it appears as if Najmul Hossain Shanto has embraced leadership quite superbly. There’s an air of calmness around his decision-making on the field, a relaxed vibe to his batting and, in general, a sense of assuredness that comes from a lot of maturity and understanding of his own game. 

The proof of all this was in how he marshalled Bangladesh to victory in the first ODI, where they restricted a strong batting line-up to 255, and then he stood tall in the chase to make an unbeaten century, his third in ODIs to ensure the job wasn’t left half-done. Bangladesh will be hoping for more of the same from their squad as they aim to seal the series after losing the T20I series 2-1.

Four of the top five faced over 25 deliveries, and none carried on to make more than the 59 Kusal Mendis made. It was a story that has manifested itself so many times over in recent times. The top order is simply not consistent enough. This has put immense pressure on the middle and lower middle order to bail them out in tricky circumstances on surfaces that haven’t always been flat beds.

On Wednesday, they were rescued by Janith Liyanage. Playing in only his seventh ODI, he held the innings together to make a 69-ball 67 to shore up Sri Lanka’s inning and take them to 255. As it turns out, this was barely a par score.