"We don't think about how we won as Bangladesh on home are a really good side. They've got some really good players, who've played more than eight-10 years in international cricket. Still they are good on their home soil. But we have to execute our game plan and then we're in the game," he explained. Sri Lanka and their fans will no doubt be relieved with the two wins in the tri-series – one each against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh – after passing a dreadful time in ODIs last year. The island nation in 2017 played 29 ODIs and managed only five wins. With the 2019 World Cup in England Wales fast approaching, the Lankans, under the guidance of head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, who made an absurd exit from his post as Bangladesh coach, are looking to change their fortunes sooner rather than later. "It was a hard time for the team and the Sri Lankan fans over the past two years. Especially in the one-day format, as you said. But when you're looking at the one-day format we also had some injury issues. Sometimes we couldn't get the right combination. But that's not an excuse," said the 28-year old. "As players you need to perform well wherever you are playing. Now, with the new coach (Hathurusingha) we've got some new strategies. We've got a lot of faith in him, and we have got some confidence. We're not thinking about the result. We are always thinking about how to play good cricket when we're in the middle. That's the main change we have in the team," concluded the wicketkeeper-batsman.Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 10 wickets (with 229 balls to spare). SL 83/0 (11.5 Ovs) Upul Tharanga 39*, Danushka Gunathilaka 35* v BAN 82/10. #BANvSL pic.twitter.com/b5sxOCCYKU
— Sri Lanka Cricket (@OfficialSLC) January 25, 2018
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal Friday said they will be boosted by their recent 10-wicket win when they take on host Bangladesh in the grand finale of the tri-nation ODI series at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka Saturday.
Sri Lanka in the must win affair Thursday thrashed the Tigers by first restricting the side to a humiliating 82 before chasing down the target without any loss. Chandimal, who is deputising as Sri Lanka ODI captain in place of the injured Angelo Mathews, said they did not try anything extraordinary in their epic win and just stuck to the basics.
"It was a really good win as a team, especially before the final. We did not think about the final (when playing the must win game against Bangladesh). As I said in the last press conference, we are just playing one at a time. We'll have a process to do that. We have to do our basics and stick to the plans. If we can execute that, we're in the game," said Chandimal in the pre-final presser.
Despite the clinical win against the Tigers, Chandimal informed that they are in no mood to take the home side lightly.
