In today’s (Monday) 38th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Bangladesh will play Sri Lanka at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
If Sri Lanka is to make it to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup knockout rounds, a decisive win over Bangladesh is a vital first step in the right direction.
Key player injuries have hampered Sri Lanka’s World Cup campaign, but with wins over Bangladesh and New Zealand during the coming week, the island country may still advance to the semi-finals.
They will also require a number of other outcomes to go their way, but for the time being, they can only focus on winning the championship for the third time by triumphing over Bangladesh, another Asian team.
Bangladesh’s only World Cup victory was in their opening game in Dharamsala against Afghanistan, and following six consecutive defeats, Shakib Al Hasan’s team has little chance of making it to the semi-finals.
Though it has been a poor campaign, they still have plenty of games left and will be eager to win their second victory and hurt Sri Lanka’s prospects.
Bangladesh will rely on seasoned players like Litton Das, Mahmudullah, and Shakib to score runs at will, while Sri Lanka will look to players like Pathum Nissanka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, and captain Kusal Mendis to start scoring runs at the bat.
With Shakib leading Bangladesh’s slow bowling attack and players like Maheesh Theekshana and Dunith Wellalage expected to be important for Sri Lanka, spin is probably going to have a big impact in this match.
Shakib Al Hasan, a seasoned bowler from Bangladesh, grabbed three wickets in his opening World Cup match against Afghanistan, but he hasn’t been at his best since and has only taken seven wickets in six matches so far.
His greatest efforts with the bat during that span have been two scores in the 40s, and the seasoned captain will be eager to up his game against Sri Lanka.
Kusal Mendis, who scored an incredible 158 against Afghanistan in the warm-up matches, seemed to be in outstanding form for Sri Lanka earlier in the tournament when he struck a fantastic 122 against Pakistan in Hyderabad.
From that point on, the Asian team nearly eliminated itself from contention for a semi-final spot, and the stand-in skipper of Sri Lanka has only achieved one score beyond eleven—he scored 39 against Afghanistan in Pune.
Mendis has to go back to his best form immediately if Sri Lanka is to make it to the semifinals.
Teams
The roster for Bangladesh is composed of the following players: Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Litton Kumer Das, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, and Tawhid Hridoy.
Kusal Mendis (captain), Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Dushmantha Chameera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Angelo Mathews, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushan Hemantha, and Chamika Karunaratne are the Sri Lankan team members.
