It has been a story of heartbreak for Bangladesh since the beginning of the tournament, and the last league match of the Asia Cup did not change its nature.
The home side ended the tournament with yet another defeat in a close contest, this time losing to Sri Lanka by three wickets in Dhaka on Thursday.The bowlers raised the prospect of a win even though Bangladesh posted just 204-9, but a lack of penetrating power in pressure situations saw them finish on the losing end for the seventh consecutive match.
Angelo Mathews played an unbeaten innings of 74 runs to bail Sri Lanka out from potential danger and lead them to 208-7 with six balls in hand.
Unheralded Chaturanga de Silva (44) provided Mathews with invaluable support, adding 83 runs for the sixth wicket after Bangladesh had erased the top half of their batting line-up for 75 runs.
The Tigers sniffed a win like on many other occasions when they had Sri Lanka struggling at 3-8, but the bowlers inevitably capitulated to allow the opponents to regroup and make a comeback.
Al-Amin Hossain stuck twice in his first two balls to remove dangermen Kusal Perera and Kumar Sangakkara cheaply, and Mahmudullah soon made a brilliant stop in the field to run out Mahela Jayawardene before Sri Lanka had reached double digits.
Bangladesh had once lost a game to Sri Lanka at this very ground despite taking their first five wickets for six runs, and with that in mind Mushfiqur Rahim continued with his attacking field set up to maintain some pressure.
Mushfiq was also brave with his bowling changes, unlike previous matches, as he preferred Ziaur Rahman before his favoured Mahmudullah, and medium pacer paid rich dividends, bowling 10 overs at a stretch to take the wicket of Ashan Priyanjan as Sri Lanka lost their fourth wicket for 47 runs.
Rubel Hossain took a blinder at the boundary to help Arafat Sunny dismiss Lahiru Thirimanne for 33 runs, giving Bangladesh great hope.
It, however, evaporated as Mathews and de Silva dug deep to bring Sri Lanka back in the contest.
They had the asking run rate in the favour, so the duo could avoid risky shots, denying Bangladesh further success.
By the time de Silva gave his first chance, Sri Lanka were firmly in the game, reaching 157 runs with victory within the reach.
Al-Amin wasted the chance, grassing a simple catch off Sakib al Hasan, who maintained a tight length without any reward. Mahmudullah saved Al Amin’s blushes, inducing an edge from the same batsman in the next over.
Anamul Haque grasped the catch somehow to break the resilient partnership of Mathews and de Silva, though Sri Lanka, with their long tail, still had little to worry about. Thisara Perera joined his skipper to take them close before he was run out.
Bangladesh earlier missed a chance to pose a tougher challenge for Sri Lanka despite having laid the foundation for it.
Anamul Haque and Shamsur Rahman gave the hosts a perfect start with a 74-run stand after skipper Mushfiqur Rahim won the toss and elected to bat.
But a middle-order collapse saw the Tigers lose their way, losing five wickets for 45 runs.
Sri Lankan bowlers stamped their authority once Ajantha Mendis got them their first breakthrough with the wicket of Shamsur, who made 39.
The Tigers collapsed as Mendis bowled one-down Mominul Haque (one) in the same over and Chaturanga de Silva trapped Muhfiq in front for four.
Priyanjan joined in the act soon to dismiss Bangladesh’s top-scorer Anamul, who made 49 off 86 balls.
The Tigers fell to 119-5 when Priyanjan had Sakib out for 20, with their last recognised pair Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah at the crease.
The duo added 55 runs in their innings-repairing sixth-wicket stand before they fell to Suranga Lakmal in successive overs with identical scores of 30.
Perera claimed two wickets in two balls in the final over to ensure that Bangladesh had to remain content with a score of a little over 200.
BRIEF SCORES
Bangladesh 204-9 in 50 overs (Anamul 49, Shamsur 39, Nasir 30, Mahmudullah 30; S Priyanjan 2-11, T Rerera 2-29, R Lakmal 2-32, A Mendis 2-55) v Sri Lanka 208-7 in 49 overs (A Mathews 74 not out, C de Silva 44, L Thirimanne 33; Al-Amin 2-42).
Result: Sri Lanka won by 3 wickets, Man of the match: A Mathews (SL)
-With New Age input
