JOIN USSkipper produces unbeaten 74 as Bangladesh finish campaign without a win.
Skipper Angelo Mathews held his nerve under pressure and led from the front with an unbeaten half-century as Sri Lanka registered a three-wicket win over Bangladesh in the concluding league fixture of the Asia Cup here on Thursday.
Sri Lanka chased down the 205-run target with an over to spare, thereby maintaining their unbeaten streak in the tournament, after Bangladesh opted to bat in the inconsequential match at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium.
Having already made the final alongside Pakistan, Sri Lanka were in big trouble at eight for three in the third over, before being reduced to 75 for five at the midway stage by a spirited Bangladesh attack. But Mathews (74) did not panic as he struck seven boundaries and one six en route to his 19th ODI half-century, finishing the chase by pulling Arafat Sunny for a boundary.
The skipper found perfect ally in Chaturanga de Silva (44 from 52 balls; 5x4) and the duo stitched 82 brisk runs for the sixth wicket.
With four wins from as many matches, the Lankans finished atop the table with 17 points, while Pakistan finished with 13 points. India (9) and Afghanistan (4) ended at third and fourth places, while hosts Bangladesh finished with the wooden spoon with four defeats.
The summit clash will be held here on Saturday.
Earlier, Bangladesh frittered away a solid start by their openers to be restricted to 204/9 after Mushfiqur Rahim opted to bat on an uneven looking slow surface.
Rookie Priyanjan, with his off-spin, grabbed 2/11 from three overs after Mendis gave the breakthrough with two wickets from one over.
Bangladesh’s opening duo had put on 74 runs.
Opener Anamul Haque, who scored a century in their record 326 against Pakistan, struck one six and two fours en route to an 86-ball 49.
In the next over, Priyanjan took the prized scalp of Shakib-al-Hasan (20), while the pace duo of Suranga Lakmal (2/32) and Thisara Perera (2/29) tightened the noose in the death overs.
In their defence, Bangladesh came out all guns blazing as Al-Amin Hossain dismissed Kusal Perera for a duck in the second ball of Lankan innings, before grabbing the prized scalp of Kumar Sangakkara (2) in his next over.
With nothing going their way, Sri Lanka lost a third wicket when Mahela Jayawardene was run out for a duck after a confusion with Thirimanne, giving the hosts a real possibility of causing an upset.
But Mathews showed the right temperament and rotated the strike cleverly with de Silva and the duo ensured that the required run-rate was taken care of.
BANGLADESH
A Haque c T’manne b Priyanjan 49
S Rahman lbw Mendis 39
M Haque b Mendis 1
M Rahim lbw de Silva 4
Shakib c Mathews b Priyanjan 20
N Hossain c J’wardene b Lakmal 30
Mahmudullah b Lakmal 30
Z Rahman b Perera 12
Sunny (not out) 2
R Hossain b Perera 0
A Hossain (not out) 0
Extras (B-4, LB-3, W-10) 17
Total (for 9 wkts, 50 overs) 209
Fall of wickets: 1-74, 2-76, 3-87, 4-106, 5-119, 6-174, 7-183, 8-203, 9-203.
Bowling: Suranga Lakmal 10-0-32-2, Thisara Perera 8-0-29-2, Sachitra Senanayake 10-1-37-0, Chaturanga de Silva 10-0- 33-1, Ajantha Mendis 9-0-55-2, Ashan Priyanjan 3-0-11-2.
SRI LANKA
Perera c Anamul b Al-Amin 0
Thirimanne c R Hossain b Sunny 33
Sangakkara c N Hossain b Al-Amin 2
Jayawardene (run out) 0
Priyanjan c Anamul b Ziaur 24
Mathews (not out) 74
de Silva c Anamul b M’dullah 44
Perera (run out) 15
Senanayake (not out) 7
Extras (B-4, W-5) 9
Total (for 7 wkts, 49 overs) 208
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-6, 3-8, 4-47, 5-75, 6-157, 7-193.
Bowling: Al-Amin 10-2-42-2, R Hossain 6-0-25-0, Shakib 10-0-27-0, Ziaur 10-0-34-1, Sunny 7-0-46-1, Mahmudullah 6-1-30-1.