After their opening match against Hong Kong was washed out, Bangladesh bounced back strongly to claim a 14-run victory over Sri Lanka in their second game, thanks to an all-round bowling effort led by Mosaddek Hossain Saikat.
Batting first, Bangladesh posted 75 for 5, before restricting Sri Lanka to 61 for 6 in their chase of 76. Mosaddek was the standout performer, taking 3 wickets for 20 runs in his two overs to dismantle the Sri Lankan middle order. Abu Hider Rony and Tofayel Ahmed chipped in with one wicket each.
Sri Lanka’s chase began brightly when opener Thanuka Dabare hit Abu Hider for two sixes in the first two balls of the innings, but the left-arm pacer had his revenge by dismissing him on the third delivery. Mosaddek then struck twice in his first over, removing Lahiru Dilshan after conceding two early sixes, and returned to claim the wickets of Lahiru Samarakoon and Tharindu Ratnayake in his next spell.
Earlier, Bangladesh started aggressively after losing the toss. Habibur Rahman Sohan hit two sixes in the opening over off Dhananjaya Lakshan, one from a no-ball and another from the free hit, before falling for 21 off 7 balls, which included two fours and two sixes. Captain Akbar Ali also played a blistering knock of 32 off 9 deliveries, hammering two consecutive sixes in one over.
Bangladesh raced to 56 for 3 in the first three overs but could not maintain the momentum in the final stages. Mosaddek scored 6 off 8, Abu Hider made 6 off 10, and Tofayel remained unbeaten on 5 from 4 balls, taking the total to 75 for 5.
For Sri Lanka, Lakshan, Tharindu Ratnayake and Samarakoon took one wicket each, but their efforts were not enough as Bangladesh’s bowlers sealed the win comfortably.
