Hockey World League Round 2: Bangladesh thrash Sri Lanka

Bangladesh will now face Ghana in the fifth-place deciding match at the same venue on Sunday afternoon. This will be Bangladesh's last match of this campaign. Highest three teams can advance to Round 3 and after exiting in the semi-finals against Egypt, fifth place is the best available position for the home side. Bangladesh also played in the fifth-place decider in the last edition of the but lost to Ukraine to finish sixth. This time around, Ghana, who are ranked outside the top 35, are Bangladesh's last opponent in the tournament. Ghana are familiar opposition for Russel Mahmud Jimmy and Co. Bangladesh played three practice matches before the tournament - all against the west African nation - winning one, losing one and drawing the other. Bangladesh continued their sheer dominance over the south Asian nation. They won every time they faced Sri Lanka in the last decade. Sri Lanka's previous win against Bangladesh came in 2006. Forward Milon Hossain netted three goals while drag-and-flick specialist Mamunur Rahman Chayan and Arshad Hossain scored a brace apiece. Mainul Islam Kawshik and Jimmy added one each to make sure Bangladesh maintained their superiority over the Lankans. Meanwhile, top-ranked Malaysia stormed into the final with a comfortable 5-1 victory over Egypt in the first semi-final. They will face second-ranked China in the grand finale. China outplayed Oman 5-1 in the other semi on the same day. As the top two finishers, Malaysia and China also confirmed their ticket in Round 3.