Lasith Malinga ended his ODI career bowling Sri Lanka to a victory, as the hosts registered a resounding 91-run win over Bangladesh in the first ODI of their 3-match series at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium on Friday.
Kusal Perera slammed his fifth ODI century as Sri Lanka posted a match-winning score of 314, while the bowlers led by Malinga himself restricted the visitors to only 223. Fittingly, Malinga took the final wicket in his last over with a trademark slower delivery.
Photos: Sri Lanka Vs. Bangladesh | 1st ODI
Slinga Malinga produced yet another great performance with the ball, taking 3 wickets for 38 runs in 9.4 overs to end his career on 338 wickets in 226 matches, ninth among the overall wicket-takers list in ODIs. He will also bid adieu to ODI cricket as the third-highest wicket-taker amongst Sri Lankans, only behind Muttiah Muralitharan (523) and Chaminda Vaas (399).
Earlier in the day, after opting to bat, Perera broke a five-year hiatus at Khettarama, becoming the first Sri Lankan to reach three-figures at this venue after T.M Dilshan slammed a century against England in 2014. He reached his century in just 82 balls, which is also his joint-fastest hundred.
Sri Lanka strangely changed their successful opening pairing from the World Cup and sent Avishka Fernando in as skipper Dimuth Karunaratne’s partner. Fernando failed to seize the opportunity as he nicked behind for just seven in the third over of the game.
Perera set up a platform for Sri Lanka, combining well to add 97 and 100 with Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis respectively. Karunaratne played second fiddle to Perera before falling to Mehedi Hasan’s off-spin. Mendis missed out on an opportunity to score a half-century as he perished soon after Perera fell on nelson.
After the dismissals of Perera and Mendis, Sri Lanka lost their way somewhat, with Angelo Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne finding it difficult to up the scoring rate. Mathews and Thirimanne added 60 runs for the fifth wicket in 64 balls. Thisara Perera once again failed to provide the late impetus to the Lankan innings but Mathews took Sri Lanka’s score past 300 with a 52-ball 48.
“Firstly, in the World Cup, I opened the batting. Today, I batted at number 3. The situation was different but I backed myself and backed my strengths. It’s all about the hard work that I put in the practice sessions which is paying off.” Kusal Perera said on his innings.
Defending 314, the 36-year old seamer Malinga, had a perfect start to his farewell game when he yorked Tamim Iqbal with an unplayable in-swinging delivery to which the Bangladesh captain had no answer. A few overs later, Malinga’s new-ball partner, Nuwan Pradeep trapped Mohammed Mithun plumb in front as Bangladesh struggled to counter some disciplined bowling early on.
After his first over wicket, Malinga once again disturbed the stumps, clean bowling Soumya Sarkar with another in-swinging toe-crusher in the ninth over. Lahiru Kumara, playing his first ODI after nearly a year, cramped Mahmudullah with a bouncer after seeking advice from Lasith Malinga from mid-off as the right-hander guided the ball straight to substitute fielder Wanondu Hasaranga at third-man.
Read More: The warrior who keeps on fighting – Lasith Malinga
At four down for 41, Bangladesh badly needed a partnership. The experienced Mushfiqur Rahim and Sabbir Rahman gave a glimmer of hope to the visitors, adding 111 for the fifth wicket. Rahman slammed 7 fours during his 56-ball 60 before finding the waiting hands of the deep mid-wicket fielder off Dhananjaya De Silva’s bowling.
Kusal Mendis, who substituted for Kusal Perera behind the stumps, inflicted a run-out to send back Mosaddek Hossain, while Mehidy Hasan nicked behind to give De Silva his second victim as Bangladesh slipped down further to 187 for 7 at the 35 over mark.
Rahim used all his experience to keep Bangladesh in the hunt with a fine 78 but it was too much for him to achieve alone as Sri Lanka capped off a perfect farewell gift, a win for the legend Lasith Malinga.
Despite retiring from ODIs, Malinga is expected to captain the T20I side until the 2020 World Cup in Australia before hanging up his boots completely.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avishka Fernando | c Soumya Sarkar b Shaiful Islam | 7 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 53.85 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | c Mustafizur Rahman b Mehidy Hasan Miraz | 36 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 97.30 |
| Kusal Perera | c Mustafizur Rahman b Soumya Sarkar | 111 | 99 | 17 | 1 | 112.12 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Mushfiqur Rahim b Rubel Hossain | 43 | 49 | 4 | 0 | 87.76 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Sabbir Rahaman b Mustafizur Rahman | 48 | 52 | 3 | 0 | 92.31 |
| Lahiru Thirimanne | c Soumya Sarkar b Mustafizur Rahman | 25 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Thisara Perera | c Soumya Sarkar b Shaiful Islam | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Sabbir Rahaman b Shaiful Islam | 18 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 150.00 |
| Lasith Malinga | not out | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Nuwan Pradeep | not out | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 18 (b 0 , lb 1 , nb 1, w 16, pen 0) |
| Total | 314/8 (50 Overs, RR: 6.28) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-10 (2.5) Avishka Fernando, 2-107 (14.6) Dimuth Karunaratne, 3-207 (32.4) Kusal Perera, 4-212 (33.6) Kusal Mendis, 5-272 (44.3) Lahiru Thirimanne, 6-276 (45.2) Thisara Perera, 7-302 (48.3) Angelo Mathews, 8-309 (49.2) Dhananjaya de Silva, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaiful Islam | 9 | 0 | 62 | 3 | 6.89 | |
| Mehidy Hasan Miraz | 9 | 0 | 56 | 1 | 6.22 | |
| Rubel Hossain | 9 | 0 | 54 | 1 | 6.00 | |
| Mosaddek Hossain | 7 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 6.43 | |
| Mustafizur Rahman | 10 | 0 | 75 | 2 | 7.50 | |
| Soumya Sarkar | 5 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 3.40 | |
| Mahmudullah | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tamim Iqbal | b Lasith Malinga | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Soumya Sarkar | b Lasith Malinga | 15 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 68.18 |
| Mohammad Mithun | lbw b Nuwan Pradeep | 10 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 47.62 |
| Mushfiqur Rahim | c Kusal Mendis b Nuwan Pradeep | 67 | 86 | 5 | 0 | 77.91 |
| Mahmudullah | c Nuwan Thushara b Lahiru Kumara | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 30.00 |
| Sabbir Rahaman | c Avishka Fernando b Dhananjaya de Silva | 60 | 56 | 7 | 0 | 107.14 |
| Mosaddek Hossain | run out (Kusal Mendis) | 12 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Mehidy Hasan Miraz | c Kusal Mendis b Dhananjaya de Silva | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Shaiful Islam | b Nuwan Pradeep | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 22.22 |
| Rubel Hossain | not out | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Mustafizur Rahman | c Thisara Perera b Lasith Malinga | 18 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 128.57 |
| Extras | 28 (b 0 , lb 4 , nb 0, w 24, pen 0) |
| Total | 223/10 (41.4 Overs, RR: 5.35) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-0 (0.5) Tamim Iqbal, 2-30 (7.3) Mohammad Mithun, 3-30 (8.3) Soumya Sarkar, 4-39 (11.5) Mahmudullah, 5-150 (28.2) Sabbir Rahaman, 6-182 (33.2) Mosaddek Hossain, 7-187 (34.6) Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8-199 (38.1) Mushfiqur Rahim, 9-200 (38.3) Shaiful Islam, 10-223 (41.4) Mustafizur Rahman, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lasith Malinga | 9.4 | 2 | 38 | 3 | 4.04 | |
| Nuwan Pradeep | 9 | 1 | 51 | 3 | 5.67 | |
| Thisara Perera | 6 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 6.00 | |
| Lahiru Kumara | 7 | 0 | 45 | 1 | 6.43 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 10 | 0 | 49 | 2 | 4.90 | |
