Asia Cup 2018: Mushfiqur Rahim's tour de force and other takeaways from tournament opener

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  • The former skipper's 144 rescued Bangladesh.

    In a match which will be remembered for the bravery shown by Bangladesh‘s batsmen, especially Tamim Iqbal, the Tigers vanquished Sri Lanka by 137 runs in the Asia Cup opener at Dubai.

    Bangladesh put on 261 on the board after batting first with opener Tamim Iqbal coming out to bat at No11 despite retiring hurt early on with a fractured visit.

    In the end, Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 124 in their reply. Here, we look at the talking points from the tournament opener.

    MALINGA’S GRAND RETURN ROCKS SRI LANKA

    Before even a ball had been bowled at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, all eyes were on one man who was making his ODI return for the first time in over a year.

    Lasith Malinga’s comeback to international cricket more than lived up to its expectations with the veteran pacer striking twice in the very first over of Bangladesh’s innings. With his characteristic slinging action, the 35-year-old got Liton Das to knick one towards slips with his fifth delivery.

    Flashbacks of a Malinga in a his prime came with the next delivery with the pacer’s searing in-swinging yorker leaving Bangladesh star all-rounder with no chance as the ball crashed into the stumps.

    The Sri Lankan was not just done there and returned in the 26th over to break a stubborn stand by dismissing Mohammad Mithun. He soon had his fourth victim of the innings when Mosadek Hossain perishing this time. A five-wicket haul eluded the pacer after a timely review by Rubel Hossain but not a single boundary was scored off the veteran’s 10 overs.

    Return of the king: Lasith Malinga.

    Return of the king: Lasith Malinga.

    MUSHFIQUR’S BATTLING TON RESCUES THE TIGERS

    After Malinga’s early burst, Bangladesh’s woes were compounded when opener Tamim Iqbal had to retire hurt after being struck in the wrist. From then on, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Mithun settled the nerves in the dressing room with a 133-run stand which was ultimately broken by Malinga.

    However, Mushfiqur was not yet done and despite the scorching heat and humidity in Dubai, the right-hander played perhaps his greatest ODI innings. After soaking in the pressure early on his innings, he unleashed a plethora of shots all over the park in the death to propel Bangladesh’s faltering innings.

    The former skipper brought up his sixth ODI ton in style and continued to soldier on despite wickets falling around him. He made the most of his luck at the start of the innings with Sri Lanka’s fielders dropping some sitters and provided the perfect finish to the innings

    Despite being completely sapped of any energy in the final overs, Mushfiqur kept landing blow after blow with his bat and notched up his highest ODI score and the second highest in the tournament’s history in a 150-ball effort before being the final man dismissed.

    SRI LANKA’S SORRY BATTING EFFORT

    Sri Lanka started their chase of 262 on fire with opener Upul Tharanga looking extremely good early on but the wheels started coming off quickly once Kusan Mendis was dismissed in the second over by Mustafizur Rahman. With Tharanga and Dhananjaya de Silva all departing inside the first five overs, the islanders were left with an uphill task.

    Angelo Mathews’ men required someone to play the anchor just like Mushfiqur had done for Bangladesh but none of the batsmen put their hands up to take responsibility.

    It was club-level batting from the islanders with Dasun Shanaka’s run-out exemplifying their brainless approach at times. Once the scoreboard pressure started adding up, the Sri Lankans simply wilted under the pressure before ultimately being bundled out for just 124 runs.

    Falling like nine-pins: Sri Lanka's batting order.

    Falling like nine-pins: Sri Lanka’s batting order.

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