Bangladesh vs. Sri Lanka 2021 : HOSTS TO KEEP IT TIGHT || 1st ODI
Bangladesh vs. Sri Lanka 2021
1st ODI – Sun, 23rd May
HOSTS TO KEEP IT TIGHT:
Bangladesh:
Bangladesh will be led by skipper Tamim Iqbal. With Shakib Al Hasan returning to the ODI roster, they’ll hope to make an impression on the game, particularly in home conditions.
Captain Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das should open at the top for Bangladesh, with Shakib all set to reside in the No. 3 positions. If Mushfiqur Rahim bats at 4, Soumya Sarkar could be pushed back to his typical role as a floater in the middle-order. Mahmudullah was one of the finer batters for Bangladesh against New Zealand, and he should add more solidity to the batting order.
Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, and Taskin Ahmed should be their three key speedsters, with Mehidy Hasan their prime spinner along with Shakib.
Possible playing XI: Tamim Iqbal(C), Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain/ Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, and Mustafizur Rahman.
Sri Lanka:
Sri Lanka, in the meantime, has swapped things up and dumped senior players like Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, and skipper Dimuth Karunaratne after the series loss in the West Indies. Kusal Perera was selected skipper of the team, with Kusal Mendis as his deputy. Perera will expect that he can encourage this comparatively inexperienced Sri Lankan side to victory.
It’s a tricky task to foresee the playing roster of this new-look Sri Lankan outfit. Skipper Kusal Perera should open the batting with Danushka Gunathilaka, with Pathum Nissanka expected to follow them at number 3. Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka should slot at 4 and 5.
Wanindu Hasaranga and Dhananjaya De Silva should add a lot of depth to Sri Lanka’s middle-order. Hasaranga’s fiery batting might be the X-Factor for the tourists.
Possible playing XI: Kusal Perera(C/WK), Dasun Shanaka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Akila Dananjaya/ Ashen Bandara, Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Isuru Udana, Dushmantha Chameera, and Shiran Fernando/ Chamika Karunaratne.
The venue, Pitch Report, and Toss Prediction:
Bangladesh lock horns with Sri Lanka in the first match of a three-game ODI series on Sunday, 23rd May, at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. Both sides are arriving off defeats in their last international limited-overs fixtures, with Sri Lanka by the West Indies and Bangladesh getting thrashed by New Zealand.
The wicket at Dhaka should be a balanced one with somewhat in it for both the speedsters and spin bowlers. Nevertheless, it should get simpler to bat on as the game proceeds and the batsmen get their eye in. Hence, skippers will choose to bowl first and chase on winning the toss.
Tops Value:
While Bangladesh was utterly blown away by New Zealand in their last outing, Sri Lanka put up a decent battle against the West Indies, despite trailing both the T20I and ODI feats. They recovered back to draw the two-game Test series, with some excellent performances from Pathum Nissanka and Suranga Lakmal.
Nevertheless, with plenty of new men in their bowling line-up, it continues to be seen how Kusal Perera will handle this team over the 3-match ODI string. Despite their dreadful defeat to New Zealand, Bangladesh is a solid opponent on home territory and should begin the series as the favourites. Bangladesh is at 1.71, while Sri Lanka begins at the pre-match odds of 2.10.
While the Sri Lankan team do not have much to fail, it’s Bangladesh that looks solid on paper. The Bangladesh batsmen will hope to exploit Sri Lanka’s naïve bowling line-up to obtain a victory in the series opener.
