Sri Lankan spinners rattle Bangladesh

NEW DELHI: ​Sri Lankan spinners were on a roll as the Bangladesh batsmen crumbled against them in their Asia Cup match at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

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Ajantha Mendis started the wicket-taking party when he dismissed Shamsur Rahman and Mominul Haque in one over.

Mendis first trapped Rahman plumb in front of the wicket and then clean bowled Haque to reduce Bangladesh to 76/2.

Soon after, Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim too returned back to the pavilion when he was trapped leg before wicket by Chathuranga de Silva.

Ashan Priyanjan then opened his bowling spell with the crucial wicket of ​Anamul Haque (49) before dismissing flamboyant all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.

Anamul and Rahman brought up Bangladesh's 50 in the 14th over after Rahim won the toss and chose to bat.

After winning the toss Rahim said that in this tournament they have batted first twice and did well, hence they are looking to bat first and put up a good total and then try and defend it.

Bangladesh have brought in Shamsur Rahman, Arafat Sunny and Rubel Hossain in place of Imrul Kayes, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam.

After losing the toss, Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews said that they were going to bowl first anyway and try to chase down the target. It was a tactical decision.

Sri Lanka have replaced Dinesh Chandimal and Lasith Malinga with Ashan Priyanjan and Sachithra Senanayake.

Four-time champions, Sri Lanka cruised into the finals of the Asia Cup, riding on their invincible run in the tournament where they defeated Pakistan, India and Afghanistan in their last three matches.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, have been winless in the tournament and are languishing at the bottom of the points table. The hosts lost to India in their tournament-opener but it was the moral-shattering defeat against minnows Afghanistan which hurt them most.

However, the Bengal tigers came out blasting all cylinders against Pakistan, posting a record total of 326 for three, only to see Shahid Afridi blow away their hopes with a blistering 25-ball 59.

Bangladesh's top and middle order fired in unison against Pakistan as Anamul Haque, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque and skipper Rahim piled up agony on the bowlers at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.

However, it will be a difficult task to tame the four-time champions who have been simply magnificent so far in the tournament.

Teams:

Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (Capt.), Shamsur Rahman, Anamul Haque, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Mahmudullah, Ziaur Rahman, Arafat Sunny, Rubel Hossain, Al-Amin Hossain.

Sri Lanka: Angelo Matthews (Capt.), Kusal Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Ashan Priyanjan, Chaturanga de Silva, Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis, Suranga Lakmal.