Bangladesh captain Litton Das rued the poor start in the powerplay after their crushing six-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2025 on Saturday, September 13 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Being put in to bat first by Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka, Bangladesh got off to the worst possible start as they lost two wickets in the first two overs, without scoring a single run.
Both openers Tanzid Hasan (0 off 6) and Parvez Hossain Emon (o off 4) fell to Nuwan Thushara and Dushmantha Chameera respectively as Bangladesh took 14 deliveries to score their first run. Following their defeat, Litton Das accepted that the game was done in the powerplay itself, as they had to settle for a below-par score.
“Definitely, I thought in power play we lost the game very much because the wicket was pretty good to bat on. If we scored 170-180, it might be a different game, but 140 was not up to the mark. If you score just that much on a good wicket, you have to bowl and field well, which we couldn’t. The match vs Afghanistan will be a do or die fixture now,” said Das in the post-match presentation.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka credited his team for a terrific start with the ball and also praised Wanindu Hasaranga for mounting pressure in the middle overs.
“I think, that is the key moment for us, to set the platform. I mean, that was a dream start, 2 overs 2 maidens with 2 wickets. Yeah, I think Wanindu Hasaranga’s googly is his main weapon, even we can’t pick him properly. He’s a superstar,” said Asalanka in the post-match presentation.
Bangladesh were restricted to 139/5 in their allotted 20 overs after Jaker Ali (41* off 34) and Shamim Hossain (42* off 34) rescued their innings with their unbeaten 86-run stand. In reply, Sri Lanka comfortably chased down the target in 14.4 overs riding on splendid knocks from Pathum Nissanka (50 off 34) and Kamil Mishara (46* off 32).
Meanwhile, following their loss, Bangladesh find themselves in a precarious position in Group B as their net run rate has taken a massive hit to be at -0.650. They will next take on Afghanistan on September 16 and will desperately need to win the fixture to remain alive in the tournament.
– Ends
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