Bangladesh eased to a massive 137-run win the Asia Cup opener against Sri Lanka in Dubai on Saturday. It was an unexpected result, especially after the Tigers were effectively 3-3 when Lasith Malinga picked up two wickets in the first over and Tamim Iqbal retired hurt.
But a superb century from Mushfiqur Rahim and all-round bowling display sealed a one-sided win. It was a great result for Bangladesh supporters who made up most of the near capacity crowd at the Dubai International Stadium.
The vociferous Bangladeshi crowd easily outnumbered Sri Lankan supporters and Mortaza said it felt like he was in Mirpur, maybe even better.
“The crowd, the way they supported us from the first ball was really good. Nice way to start the Asia Cup. I think it was more than Mirpur… big stadium, full crowd,” Mortaza said after the win.
Hope you can see it. There is a sea of green flags in Dubai. Crowd dominated by Bangladesh supporters. Feels like a Tigers home game #BANvSL #AsiaCup2018 @Sport360 pic.twitter.com/cJLbaXDo0O
— Ajit Vijaykumar (@ajvk1984) September 15, 2018
The Bangladesh skipper credited Mushfiqur for playing arguably the finest ODI innings by a Tigers player.
“Mushfiqur played one of the best ODI innings by a Bangladeshi. It was a lot of pressure, losing lost two wickets early and Tamim couldn’t bat. The way Mushfiqur finished the innings was very good,” the fast bowler added.
Meanwhile, Mortaza said it was opener Tamim Iqbal who decided to bat despite fracturing his wrist early on and added there is still a chance of him featuring in the tournament.
“Decision to bat was made by him. If he didn’t want to bat, no one could push him. Credit goes to him for the decision.
“Tamim’s scan will be done again. If we miss him, it’s a big blow. But we have good players.
He is not ruled out, we have to wait for two days for another scan. There is fracture for sure and we will see how bad it is,” Mortaza added.
MATHEWS BLAMES BATTING
#AngeloMathews is being addressed as the NO.1 batsman in #SriLankan Cricket by #Sangakkara in the comm box. Enough indication about the state of affairs in their batting department. I'm afraid Sri Lankan team looks a bit and pieces side. #SLvsBAN #AsiaCup2018
— Mikkhail Vaswani (@MikkhailVaswani) September 15, 2018
Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews said 261 was a gettable target and it was his batsmen who ended up costing the team the match, along with poor fielding.
“Batting was the main downfall. Lasith was absolutely brilliant. Three wickets for three runs, and we let them off the hook. We dropped some crucial catches,” Mathews said.
“Still 260 was a chaseable target on this wicket. It played very well. We made some bad decisions while batting.”
Mathews knows his team’s next match against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi is a must-win.
“We are under pressure. We only have one lifeline. We have to win it. It’s a do or die game for us. We have to learn from the mistakes from this game.”
