Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka by 7 wickets in the practice match

Guwahati (IANS). Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets in their first ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 practice match at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium here.

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka faced each other twice in the Asia Cup this month and the Lions won both times. Their third meeting in less than a month took place in Guwahati and the 1996 champions won the toss and elected to bat first, which initially appeared to be the right decision.

The century partnership between Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera got off to a great start, with Nissanka hitting nine fours and Perera hitting six fours in his 68 runs from 64 balls.

Perera looked all set for a big score, but his day turned out to be disappointing when he injured his shoulder at the start of the 10th over and was forced to retire hurt, prompting head coach Chris Silverwood to make 7 overs. Perera’s fitness came under scrutiny ahead of the opening match against South Africa in October.

Kusal Mendis was replaced by him but the first wicket fell at number three, which was caught by Nazmul Hussain on the ball of Nasum Ahmed on 22 runs.

Sri Lanka lost two more batsmen before the halfway stage of their innings – including Nissanka for 68 – as Bangladesh tightened their grip on the match.

The Tigers were on top for the rest of the innings, with only Dhananjay de Silva scoring 55 runs from 79 balls. Sri Lanka were all out for 263 runs in 49.1 overs, leaving an easy target for Bangladesh, which they achieved comfortably.

Liton Das played positively and hit 10 fours in his 61-run innings before he lost his wicket with the score at 131 for one, but Bangladesh did not waver.

Captain Mehdi Hasan Miraj chased down the target with an unbeaten 67 runs, while Das’s fellow opener Tanjid Hasan top-scored with 84 as they comfortably chased down the target with eight overs remaining. Bangladesh scored 264/3 in 42 overs.

Wet season in Thiruvananthapuram

No play was possible between Afghanistan and South Africa as their match was abandoned before a ball was bowled due to rain.

Afghanistan will play Sri Lanka on Tuesday, while South Africa will face New Zealand.