Bangladesh’s tour of Sri Lanka ended with another stutter as the visitors fell 99 runs short in the third one-day international at Pallekele, conceding the series 2-1. Chasing 286, they managed just 186 in 39.4 overs, undone once more by a shortage of meaningful partnerships and an inability to bat out the full allocation.
Sri Lanka had earlier recovered from 103 for 3 through a measured, 124-run stand between Kusal Mendis and Charith Asalanka. That alliance provided the cushion their bowlers later defended with something approaching comfort. Asitha Fernando struck the first blow of the chase, a searing yorker that rearranged Tanzid Hasan’s stumps, and Bangladesh never properly settled.
Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz pinpointed the difference. “When [Towhid] Hridoy and Jaker [Ali] were batting together, I still believed we could win the game,” he said. “We just couldn’t put together partnerships like Sri Lanka. They had a big partnership after they lost three wickets for 100 runs. Partnerships in the middle overs are crucial. We got a couple of 40s, but winning is hard without these partnerships in ODI cricket.”
Hridoy’s 51 – his second half-century of the series – came in stands of 42 with Parvez Hossain Emon and 43 with Mehidy himself, but no-one pressed on. “We are getting out soon after getting set,” Mehidy added. “We can’t keep the momentum for too long. We have to work on it. When I was batting with Hridoy today, we nearly grabbed the momentum. Then I got out. Momentum is required for a partnership. Strike rotation is important in a partnership. We have to play more low-risk cricket, not the high-risk cricket we are playing.”
The pattern has been consistent. Bangladesh were bowled out in 35.5 overs in Colombo, 48.5 in the second match and again well short of 50 here. “It is a concern for the team that we couldn’t bat 50 overs [in any of the matches],” the captain admitted. “It would have helped us if we had batted properly. Our middle-order batters need to take more responsibility. I couldn’t play a lot of balls, too. It would have been better [if I had done so]. We have a lot of room for improvement. We have a lot of cricket in front of us.”
His own dismissal summed up the frustration. Attempting to clear long-on off Dunith Wellalage, he picked out the fielder for 28 off 25 balls. “My dismissal put the team under pressure. I was trying to stay in touch with the run rate. I was looking for at least a boundary per over to meet the required run-rate. I didn’t want to put that pressure on Towhid Hridoy. I tried to take a calculated risk, but I couldn’t execute that shot properly. If I had, it would have gone for six.”
With wickets tumbling around him, Hridoy was left to balance caution and urgency. “I think he could have batted at a faster rate, but he couldn’t do it as we kept losing wickets,” Mehidy said. “Whenever he needed momentum, there was a setback. I won’t blame him for toda”
Bangladesh now turn their attention to a home T20I series next month, hoping lessons from this tour—chiefly the value of building in the middle overs and batting deep—translate more smoothly to a format that still requires partnerships, just over fewer balls. The squad’s younger batters have shown glimpses; converting those glimpses into sustained stands remains the immediate task.
