Avishka Fernando on Sunday hit a quick-fire half-century as Sri Lanka eased to a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in the second one-day international to seal the three-match series in Colombo.
Opener Fernando made 82 off 75 balls, helping Sri Lanka reach 242-3 in 44.4 overs after Bangladesh were restricted to 238-8, despite wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim making an unbeaten 98.
Fernando and skipper Dimuth Karunaratne set the tone for Sri Lanka’s run chase with a 71-run stand, before Bangladesh had their first success through off-spinner Mehidy Hasan.
Photo: AFP
Mehidy bowled Karunaratne for 15, but Fernando and Kusal Perera continued the hosts’ onslaught to put Sri Lanka, who won Friday’s opening game by 91 runs, firmly in control.
Mustafizur Rahman dismissed Fernando and Perera, who made 30 off 34 balls, in quick succession to revive Bangladesh’s hopes, but Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews denied them further success.
Mathews struck occasional leg-spinner Sabbir Rahman for a four to complete Sri Lanka’s win. He was unbeaten on 52 after facing 57 balls.
He was well supported by Mendis, 41 not out, in an unbroken 96-run fourth-wicket stand.
“I am disappointed to not get to the three-figure mark and hopefully I can convert my starts into bigger knocks in the future,” man-of-the-match Fernando said. “The track was a bit slow and also spun a bit. I am glad that I was able to make a contribution.”
Mustafizur finished with 2-50 for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh had Mushfiqur to thank for providing them something to fight with after their top order crumbled for the second time in the series.
Mushfiqur slammed six fours and a six in a 110-ball innings to bail out Bangladesh, who lost their first six wickets for 117 runs.
Mushfiqur and No. 8 Mehidy shared 84 runs, a seventh-wicket record for Bangladesh against Sri Lanka to give the visitors’ innings some respectability.
Mehidy made 43 off 46 balls with six fours before he was caught by Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne at mid-off off Nuwan Pradeep.
Pradeep, fellow pace bowler Isuru Udana and leg-spinner Akila Dananjaya claimed two wickets each.
The third and final match of the series is to be held at the same venue tomorrow.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
Olympic bronze medalist Lee Meng-yuan has become the first Taiwanese athlete to top the International Shooting Sport Federation’s (ISSF) men’s skeet world rankings, while top Taiwanese shooters won golds in each of yesterday’s finals in Taoyuan. Lee’s 6,610 points put him ahead of fellow men’s skeet medalists from the Paris Olympics Americans Vincent Hancock and Conner Prince. Lee on Monday said that he was surprised by the result, although he had expected his ranking to rise after the Games, which was also the first time a Taiwanese athlete had competed in men’s skeet. Despite topping the rankings, Lee said he believed Hancock, who