Bangladesh were nowhere near their best, and it was clearly evident by their fielding performance, as they went down by 92 runs against Sri Lanka in a Pool A game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday.
Taking first strike, opener Tillakaratne Dilshan and one-drop batsman Kumar Sangakkara hammered unbeaten centuries to propel Sri Lanka to a mammoth 332/1. In reply, Bangladesh only managed to muster 240, losing all of their wickets with three overs remaining.
Right-handed Dilshan blasted 161 from just 146 balls, featuring 22 fours, and in the process became the highest individual scorer for Sri Lanka in the World Cup, surpassing the previous best of 145 by Aravinda de Silva against Kenya in 1996.
From the other end, Lankan legend Sangakkara smashed a blistering 105 off 76 balls with the help of 13 boundaries and a six to make his 400th ODI appearance a memorable one. This was the classic left-hander’s 22nd ODI ton.
However, rather than Dilshan and Sangakkara, the Bangladesh cricketers were their own worst enemies as abject displays in the field took the game far away from them. There were several dropped chances with Anamul Haque turning out to be the worst offender, grassing two opportunities, both provided by Lankan opener Lahiru Thirimanne (52 off 78 balls). Bangladesh wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim also missed an easy stumping of Thirimanne off the bowling of spinner Sabbir Rahman.
After a 122-run stand for the opening wicket, Thirimanne was finally caught by Taskin Ahmed off Rubel Hossain. But, Thirimanne’s departure was hardly a cause for celebration as the Dilshan-Sangakkara partnership registered the highest ever second-wicket stand for the Lankans in ODIs, adding 210 in double quick time.
Sangakkara was also the beneficiary of some sloppy Bangladesh fielding as he was dropped twice, on 22 and 60. The Sri Lankan duo flayed the Bangladesh bowlers all over the ground as the atmosphere at the MCG all of a sudden transformed into a Lankan festival.
Chasing the huge target of triple nelson – 333 – the Tigers suffered an early blow as Tamim Iqbal was clean bowled by Lasith Malinga before he had even opened his account.
Soumya Sarkar, coming in at No 3, looked to be in good touch, striking three consecutive boundaries off Suranga Lakmal but the left-hander soon departed after scoring 25 off 15 balls.
The situation soon turned from bad to worse after Mominul Haque (1), promoted up the order, presented an easy opportunity to the slip fielder. Mahmudullah, also promoted to No 5 ahead of Shakib al Hasan, started to settle alongside Anamul (29 off 43 balls) but an unfortunate run out ended the latter’s stay at the wicket. Right after Anamul’s dismissal, Mahmudullah (28 off 46 balls) also departed after a nothing shot provided catching practice to Rangana Herath at fine-leg.
It was upto Shakib and Mushfiq to resurrect the inning. The Tigers’ most experienced pair added 64 runs and appeared compact but Shakib eventually departed after scoring 46 off 59 deliveries. Bangladesh’s hopes of an unlikely win all but evaporated when Mushfiq was dismissed for 36.
Youngster Sabbir Rahman chipped in with a half-century late in the inning to lend respectability to the Tigers’ total.
It will now be a tough task for Mashrafe and Co if they want to make it through to the quarterfinals. First and foremost though, their ground fielding needs drastic improvement.