Bangladesh look to remedy home record as rivalry with Sri Lanka heats up
As it has started to get a bit hot around eastern Bangladesh, so has the rivalry between the two teams during this series.
There were enough incidents in the Sylhet leg of the tour to feel that all is not well between the two sides. There are suggestions that the off-field relationships are fine, but that has not translated to on-field bonhomie.
Shoriful Islam kicked things off by mimicking Angelo Mathews’ timed-out gesture from the World Cup last year, and then the whole Sri Lanka team celebrated their T20I trophy win with the same gesture. In between there was tension after the third umpires call on Soumya Sarkar in the second game, and the run-in between the Sri Lanka fielders and Towhid Hridoy in the last.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto seemed perturbed by some of it, but keeping things in check will be important in a contest where emotions might run high.
Bangladesh don’t lose many home ODIs historically, but Afghanistan and New Zealand have handed them consecutive series defeats. The last time Bangladesh had lost three home ODI series in a row was back in 2011. Shanto has a task in hand to turn the side around from the T20I series defeat, and to put the team on the right side of the result in another home ODI series.
They have some form on their side, with Soumya Sarkar showing glimpses of his old self in the T20Is. Hridoy and Tanzid Hasan scored runs at the back end of the BPL, while Mahmudullah has been consistent since the World Cup, and Mushfiqur Rahim was successful in the BPL too.
Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful bowled well in the T20Is but Mustafizur Rahman remains a concern. Mehidy Hasan Miraz will be the lead allrounder in Shakib Al Hasan’s absence, and Rishad Hossain has shown glimpses of potential.
The jury is still out on Kusal Mendis’ captaincy. He has led in 13 matches so far, seven during the poor World Cup campaign. Sri Lanka won just two of those games, which meant that they also failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy. But, having overseen ODI series wins against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, and his recent uptick in form in the T20Is against Bangladesh, Mendis must be feeling positive.
With both sides getting into spats on the field, it will be interesting to see how Mendis handles his side. There will certainly be scrutiny on how he manages the team as this is a player with achequred past in terms of discipline.
Sri Lanka will hope that their post-World Cup roll continues against Bangladesh. They have beaten Zimbabwe 2-0 and Afghanistan 3-0 in ODI series already this year. They are certainly walking the right path after the lacklustre campaign in India.
Pathum Nissanka’s return from a hamstring injury, because of which he missed the T20Is, will come as a boost for Sri Lanka – after all, he recently became the first batter from Sri Lanka to hit an ODI double-century. Mendis is also in good touch, having won the Player-of-the-Series award in the T20Is.
Sri Lanka have also brought a balanced bowling attack to Bangladesh. Lahiru Kumara returning for the first time since he was injured during the World Cup adds an edge to an attack that also has Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Dilshan Madushanka among others.
(Cricinfo)
