Bangladesh lose by two runs despite Mahmudullah heroics

Chasing SLBP's XI's 354/7, Bangladesh ended their innings on 352 for eight. Mahmudullah was unbeaten on 71 but failed to hit a boundary when four runs were needed off the last ball. Bangladesh made the worst possible start in pursuit of the big total as opening batsman Imrul Kayes was caught behind in their innings' very first ball. However, No 3 batsman Sabbir Rahman and the other opener Soumya Sarkar batted brilliantly, forming an 116-run partnership for the second wicket. Sabbir scored 72 off 63 deliveries with 11 boundaries and one six. Soumya scored 47 off 43 balls, featuring five fours and a couple of over-boundaries. Mosaddek Hossain played a good knock, scoring 53 off 50 balls with the help of four boundaries and two sixes. Mushfiqur Rahim, who was the wicket-keeper during the game, made 20. Earlier, SLBP's XI posted 354/7 after being asked to bat first. The home side’s openers Dilshan Munaweera and Kusal Perera started aggressively and scored some quick runs. Bangladesh’s Taskin Ahmed struck the first blow in the sixth over. Kusal and Sandun Weerakkody then stitched together an 114-run partnership for the second wicket. Weerakkody made a quickfire 67 off 54 balls with eight boundaries and two sixes. Kusal retired out on 64 off 78 deliveries. Middle-order batsman Dhananjaya de Silva chipped in with 52 before being run out. Taskin, limited-over captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Abul Hasan and Sanjamul Islam bagged one wicket apiece. Following the game, Sabbir said, "Overall, we had a good practice match. Wicket was good for batting. Chasing 350 runs (355) on this pitch was possible. We wanted to chase. Although we lost the match, we fought well. We played well. "Most of our batsmen scored runs in this match. It will give them confidence in the upcoming ODI series. At one stage, Sri Lanka batsmen were batting very well and crawling towards a huge score. But our bowlers bowled well at the end and restricted them to around 350 (354). So I believe our bowlers also got their rhythm back in the death overs. It will help us in the upcoming matches. "I expected this kind of an innings from him. He is a great player. A match winning one. I hope he'll play in the same vein in the upcoming matches."BRIEF SCORESri Lanka Board President XI 354/7 (Weerakkody 67, Kusal 64, Saifuddin 1/26, Sanjamul 1/27, Abul 1/35) beat Bangladesh 352/8 (Sabbir 72, Mahmudullah 71*, Mosaddek 53, Soumya 47, Dananjaya 3/61) by two runs