Bangladesh tour to Sri Lanka 2019 [Preview]
Following their impressive performances in the Cricket World Cup, Bangladesh is scheduled to tour Sri Lanka to play three-match one-day internationals. The visitors will kick-start their tour when they take on Sri Lanka in the opening game of the one-day series at R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on 26th July. The next two games will be played on 28th and 31st July at the same venue.
For Sri Lanka, the Cricket World Cup did not turn to be a big disappointment. The side led by Dimuth Karunaratne played well in patches and managed to three wins out of nine games played. Two games were abandoned due to torrential rains.
For home side, the important thing will be looking to build on that decent performance and try to win the home one-day series against Bangladesh. The big positive was youngster Avishka Fernando doing well with the bat in the ICC Cricket World Cup. He scored 203 runs in 4 matches at an average of 50.75 with one century to his name. Avishka Fernando will be looking to continue his rich vein of form with the bat in this upcoming three-match one-day series.
All-rounder Angelo Matthews rediscovered his form with the bat in the showpiece event like Cricket World Cup. He scored 244 runs in 7 matches at an average of 40.66 with one century to his name. The only concern will be his fitness that has hampered his progress at the international level for the last three years.
Dimuth Karunaratne has shown excellent leadership skills in this World Cup. Left-handed batsman will need to produce runs for the side at the top of the innings. Karunaratne will be looking to do well in this upcoming three-match one-day series.
Wicket-keeper Kusal Perera is an aggressive stroke maker who will be looking to do well in this home series. Perera will be looking to raise the bar with the bat in this upcoming series against Bangladesh.
Following Lasith Malinga’s retirement from one-day cricket, Kasun Rajitha, Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal will be three premier options for the side for this home series. Dhananjaya de Silva, Jeffrey Vandersay and Jeevan Mendis are slow bowling options for the side.
On the other hand, Bangladesh will fancy their chances of winning the one-day series against Sri Lanka. Captain Mashrafe Mortaza will be available for the three-match one-day series.
In the batting department, the side will be relying on the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim to put the bulk of the runs. Following his exceptional performances with bat and ball in the Cricket World Cup, Shakib will be keen to continue his rich vein of form in this one-day series.
All-rounder accumulated 606 runs with the bat and claimed 11 wickets with the ball in 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. It was largely due to his efforts that the side was able to beat top sides like South Africa and West Indies. Besides Shakib, wicket-keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim had a decent outing with the bat in the Cricket World Cup and scored 367 runs at an average of 52.42.
Players like Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das and Mahmudullah Riyad will need to produce consistency with the bat if Bangladesh wants to win the one-day series against Sri Lanka.
Mosaddek Hossain also show his ability with the bat and ball in some of the games played for Bangladesh in the Cricket World Cup.
Another positive to come out from the World Cup for Bangladesh was impressive bowling performances from young pacer Mohammad Saifuddin, who picked up 13 wickets at an average of 32.07. He certainly bowled well for the side in the later stages of the innings.
In the bowling department, Mustafizur Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraaz and Rubel Hossain are premier bowling options for the side for this one-day series.
It will be interesting to see how Sri Lanka competes in this three-match one-day series against Bangladesh.
