Asia Cup 2018, Match 1: Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh, Dubai - Match Prediction

The wait is finally over as the 14th edition of Asia Cup 2018 is all set to kick off in a few hour’s time. The opening match of the tournament will be played between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We also come up with the match prediction of the curtain raiser.

Over the years, the Lankans have been a dominant side in the Asia Cup. They are also the most successful team in the tournament with 34 wins from 48 matches. The Islanders have also won the title five times and is on par with the Men in Blue.

However when it comes to the percentage of matches won, Sri Lanka is substantially ahead of India.

Bangladesh has never managed to lift any Asia Cup title. But they have come close twice. In the last edition of the tournament, Bangladesh qualified for the final. But eventually lost the final against India.

Unlike the last time around owing to a Twenty20 International tournament, the tournament has again been turned into a 50-over competition.

Sri Lanka haven’t been at their best in the recent past

Sri Lanka has not quite performed the way they would have wanted in the last year or so. After the retirement of veteran players, they have been quite ordinary in all formats of the game.

The consistency hasn’t been there which hasn’t allowed them to compete in the last two editions of the tournament. Despite being the most successful side in the history of the competition, they haven’t managed to qualify for the final of the tournament in the last couple of years.

The Lankans have lost 29 out of their 39 last ODI matches which includes the humiliating series defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe. The Islanders were whitewashed by India last year at home.

On the other hand, Bangladesh have improved in all aspects of the game. However their performances in the last couple of months have been far from impressive.

It will be an exciting battle between the two teams when the opening match of the tournament starts at 5:00 PM. The conditions are expected to be quite challenging for all the teams. Temperatures could sear upto 41-degree Celcius. It might remain in the late 30’s even in the night time. Hence the timing of the matches has been shifted a bit.

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Probable XI’s:

Sri Lanka- Kusal Mendis, Upul Tharanga, Kusal Perera, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Shehan Jayasuriya/Amila Aponso, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga/Dushmantha Chameera

Bangladesh- Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun, Mosaddek Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mehidy Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman

Asia Cup 2018: Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh – Match Prediction:

Historically Sri Lanka have a superior record against Bangladesh by quite a distance. But when it comes to the recent times, Bangladesh has got the better of the Islanders on quite a few occasions.

Given the recent form of Sri Lanka, they aren’t in the best of shapes. Hence I will definitely back Bangladesh to start of their Asia Cup 2018 campaign with a victory.