Sri Lanka knows the plan of Bangladesh

 Game

There are ways to lose.  The way Sri Lanka lost to Afghanistan in the opening match of the Asia Cup was simply a fluke.

 Sri Lanka, which has been in a frenzy since the beginning of the innings, reached three figures thanks to the last wicket pair.  The Afghans have outdone themselves in terms of batting, even if it's a great bowling performance.  The two openers ended the match by scoring 80 runs in the power play.  In the end victory came with 8 wickets in hand, with 59 balls to spare.

The round robin system is the first phase of this year's Asia Cup.  3 teams of the group will play one match against each other.  The top two teams from each group will advance to the Super Four.  Losing by a big margin, Sri Lanka has fallen far behind in the race for Super Four in terms of run rate.  Sri Lanka's next match against Bangladesh is therefore a life-and-death battle.

The five-time champions are breathing a sigh of relief instead of being cornered before the fight for survival against Bangladesh.  At least that's what Shanaka said at the post-match press conference with Afghanistan.  Shanaka is getting the courage to breathe a sigh of relief from the experience of playing more matches for the Lankans against Bangladesh, 'I have played many matches with Bangladesh.  We know the plan of Bangladesh.  They have an idea about all the players.  It will play a big role in the next match.  In this era every team knows about the opponent, unless the opponent is a minor team.  Experience against Bangladesh will be useful.

 If Sri Lanka knows about the Bangladesh team, Bangladesh also knows about Sri Lanka.  So what is the source of Dasun Shanaka's confidence?  Source A comparative strength trial of the bowling of Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Currently, no bowler from Bangladesh is in the top 10 in the T20 ranking of bowlers.  The poor performance of bowlers outside the country is also one of the most discussed topics in Bangladesh cricket.  In the press conference, the Sri Lankan captain also brought up the topic, 'Afghanistan's bowling attack is world class.  If we talk about Bangladesh, we know that Fiz (Mostafiz) is a very good bowler, Shakib is also world class.  Apart from this, they do not have any other world class bowlers.  If compared with Afghanistan, the match against Bangladesh will be easier.

The reason for Shanaka's claim is understandable.  Afghanistan's spinners are always good.  But against Sri Lanka, not only the spinners, but also the pacers have appeared in devastating form.  Sri Lanka lost 3 wickets for 5 runs in the first two overs by Fazal Haque Farooqui and Nabeen Ul Haque.  Sri Lanka has never lost 3 wickets for so few runs in T20.  They could not handle this initial shock.  Finally, Shanaka-Wanindu Hasaranga were bundled out for 105 runs with 2 balls to spare.  The run could have been less.  Afghan bowlers took 9 wickets of Sri Lanka in 75 runs.  The Lankan captain has also put the team's batsmen on the table.

Sri Lanka match with Bangladesh next Thursday.  Before this, Bangladesh will face Afghanistan next Tuesday.  If Afghanistan wins that match, the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka match will take the form of a 'play-off'.  Goodbye if you lose.

 Even if Bangladesh wins against Afghanistan, Sri Lanka's task will not be easy.  Then Bangladesh will not only have to lose, but will have to lose by a big margin.  The state of the net run rate is pathetic!