Asia Cup 2018, Match 1: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka - Toss Report
Credits: AFP

Bangladesh won the toss and decided to bat first in the first match of the Asia Cup at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai.

Here is what the captains said:

Angelo Mathews: I was going to have a bat first, looks like a belter. There will be some dew, but you can’t control these things. Malinga coming back is great for us. You can always hand the ball to him at crunch moments.

Mashrafe Mortaza: Looks like a good wicket to bat on. Later on we should get some help from the bowlers. There should be a bit of turn later on, so we think it’s better to bat first and get a good total. The guys are in form, especially Tamim and the bowlers.

Preview:

Both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh enter the contest with problems aplenty. Both the teams have several injury concerns to deal with especially Bangladesh. Sri Lanka have already lost the services of Dinesh Chandimal and Danushka Gunathilaka due to injuries. Their spin spearhead Akila Dananjaya will also miss the early part of the competition to attend the birth of his child.

On the other hand, Bangladesh trio- Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Nazmul Hossain Shant were nursing injuries just a day before the opener. But Bangladesh camp is confident that the trio will recover in time for the opener.

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Coming to the form, Sri Lanka’s fortunes have been on the downhill since 2017. They have lost 29 of their last 39 games including three 5-0 whitewashes last year. The Islanders, however, can take heart that they enter the competition after winning their last two ODIs against South Africa although they lost the series 2-3.

Bangladesh’s fortunes are not better either. The Tigers have won just 9 of their 22 games.

Both the teams are looking to revive their fortunes in ODIs and Asia Cup is the perfect platform for the same.

Here is the playing for both teams:

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Upul Tharanga, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Perera(w), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews(c), Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Amila Aponso, Dilruwan Perera

angladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun, Mosaddek Hossain, Mehidy Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman

 

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