Bangladesh need 233 to win to enter the Asia Cup 2012 Final!

Bangladesh are having a great opportunity of walking into the Asia Cup Finals after dismissing Sri Lanka for a modest total of 232! Now its upon the Bangladeshi batsmen to come good to carry the hosts into the Asia Cup Finals for the first time ever. However, there seems to be a delay at the Shere Bangla National Stadium because of rain during the innings break! The good news though is that tomorrow is a reserve day for this match and it will continue from the point it was stopped.

Nazmul Hossain, who was playing his first match of the tournament, provided the opening for Bangladesh taking three big wickets at the top! Sri Lanka’s three big fishes – Mahela Jayawardene (bowled through the gate trying to flick an inswinger), Kumar Sangakkara (caught at extra covers driving uppishly) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (dragging a square cut onto the off stump with an inside edge) were all dismissed by the medium pacer Nazmul Hossain cheaply. The Lankans were reduced to 32 for 3 in 9.2 overs!

It was a struggle for the Lankans from that point and although they didn’t keep on losing the wickets, the run rate was just not picking up. The pair of Chamara Kapugedera and Lahiru Thirimanne were rebuilding the innings but not able to score runs freely. The pair added 88 runs for the 4th wicket before Lahiru Thirimanne got stumped out in a freakish manner down the legside. Thirimanne (48 from 73 balls with 3 fours) missed a flick down the legside off Abdur Razzak in the 32nd over and the ball had hit the Keeper’s pads and rebounded onto the stumps with the left-hander over balancing and getting dragged out of the crease.

Sri Lanka managed another steady partnership after that with Kapugedera adding 49 runs with Upul Tharanga. Just when Kapugedera (62 from 92 balls with 4 fours) was looking threatening after reaching his 8th ODI fifty, his wicket went down when a smashing drive was caught low by Shakib Al Hasan at extra covers in the 40th over. Tharanga who was batting busily lost two more partners in quick time and he himself fell in the 46th over edging a widish yorker from Shahadat Hossain to the Keeper Mushfiqur Rahim. Tharanga chipped in with 48 from 44 balls with 5 fours and a six and left the crease with Sri Lanka at 204 for 8.