25 ovs report: The Sri Lanka openers, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kusal Perara, continued from where they left off in the second ODI against Bangladesh, briskly adding 116 runs for the first wicket. After 25 overs, the home side's score stood at 129 for 1, with Sangakkara having just come in for Perera. It was once again the Bangladesh pace bowlers who were under fire, getting hammered from the word go until the spinners regained some footing on proceedings.
Perera and Dilshan brought up their second 100-run partnership in the 18 over, and a few balls later the young left-hand Perera celebrated his maiden ODI fifty with glee.
The landmark has come in his seventh ODI, and he has grabbed the limelight in the past three as he came out to open the innings. He continued to bat in enterprising fashion today, starting off with a six in the third over - it was a pick-up shot over the long-on boundary off Shahadat Hossain. Off the same bowler, he picked up three boundaries off one over - inside edging one, superbly driving through mid-off and jumping high to control a cut shot through the point and cover fielder.
Dilshan's half-century came up a ball after Perera's. The senior pro hardly took time to get going as he began the innings with two boundaries in the second over, one pushed through wide mid-on and the next driven straight, past the bowler Ziaur Rahman.
The first seven overs were all pace from Shahadat and Ziaur, who conceded 54 runs. But it all slowed down from the next over when offspinner Sohag Gazi was brought into the attack. With Abdur Razzak and Mahmudullah brought on too, the boundaries dried up.
The only time one of the openers found a four off the spinners during this time was when Shahadat at mid-off let one slip between his legs in the ninth over. The control of the spinners continued until the 21st over when Mohammad Ashraful dived over a ball at deep square-leg, again off a seamer.
The spinners' impact was felt ultimately when the opening stand broke in the 22nd over. Perera couldn't keep a cut shot down off Mahmudullah, offering a chance in Nasir Hossain's direction at backward point where the fielder had to treaded back and took a sharp catch.
Perera's 56 came off 66 balls with five fours and a six, and the innings gave the home side the impetus to set up a challenging total for Bangladesh.
50 overs Sri Lanka 302 for 9 (Dilshan 125, Kusal 56, Razzak 5-62) v Bangladesh
Tillakaratne Dilshan's fourth century in Pallekele kept Sri Lanka intact for most of the innings after the shuffled middle-order squandered a good start. Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak led the way to bring Bangladesh back into the hunt by cutting out boundaries and picking up late wickets. The home side managed an imposing 302 for 9 in 50 overs, but not without struggle.
Razzak became the first Bangladeshi bowler to get 200 ODI wickets, also completing his fourth five-wicket haul, when he took the wicket of Sachithra Senanayake in the final over of the innings. Offspinner Sohag Gazi and Mahmudullah also played roles in bringing scoring breaks when Sri Lanka were poised to completely run away with the momentum. But all three of them gave away a minimum of 50 runs in each of their ten overs, proof that the wicket was a featherbed for the batsmen to start driving from the onset.
Dilshan did just that, starting off his innings with two boundaries off Ziaur Rahman in the second over of the match. His younger opening partner Kusal Perera hammered a six to begin proceedings from the other end before going after Shahadat Hossain with three boundaries in the early stages. Perera, having struck five fours and a six, got out for 56 off 66 balls. It was his maiden ODI fifty, but he looks far more comfortable in the middle as he continued to remind viewers of Sanath Jayasuriya with some of his shots.
Mahmudullah and Razzak applied the break at that point, as Kumar Sangakkara and Dilshan hardly found a boundary. It was smart of captain Mushfiqur Rahim to fill in those dull overs by bringing back Ziaur and Shahadat, who gave away the odd boundary but bowled with far more confidence than in the first Powerplay.
Sangakkara fell for 48 in the 36th over, the first time on tour that Bangladesh managed to dismiss him for under 50. Sri Lanka then gave Thisara Perera the promotion with the hope that the left-hander can capitalise on the excellent position he walked into, at 203 for 2. But Razzak was accurate enough as Thisara swung across the line two overs later. It was the start of the collapse as Angelo Mathews, Jeevan Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal fell in the next seven overs. All three fell in attempts to force the pace, the Bangladeshi bowlers picking up wickets due to the dot balls they had accumulated.
Gazi had slipped in a maiden in the 43rd over, the only one of the ODI series by a Bangladeshi bowler while Razzak, and in parts Shahadat and Ziaur continued to keep the Sri Lankan batsman out of the hitting zone.
Finally, the home supporters had something to cheer about when Dilshan cut loose after reaching his century. It was his 16th ODI hundred, second in the series and fourth at this venue where he has invariably reached a century after crossing the 50-mark.
Dilshan, however, was struck on the stomach in an attempt to play the scoop shot. He fell for 125 off 128 balls with 12 fours. Lahiru Thirimanne, batting at No. 8, scrapped up enough runs to add 28 with Nuwan Kulasekera. Razzak broke that stand and had Senanayake bowled the next ball to bring up his five-for. But he couldn't restrict the hosts in the final over as he gave away 11 runs, which took Sri Lanka past the 300-mark.
Bangladesh 184 for 7 (Anamul 40) beat Sri Lanka 302 for 9 (Dilshan 125, Kusal 56, Razzak 5-62) by 3 wickets (D/L method)
Bangladesh scampered to a series-levelling win against Sri Lanka in the third and final ODI, in Pallekele, winning by three wickets in a rain-hit encounter. They were helped along by Nasir Hossain's composed 33 off 27 balls late in the chase, the visitors showing nerves as they neared the victory - their first in 15 completed games against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka.
Overall it was a fine occasion for the visitors, who had left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak becoming the first Bangladesh bowler to aggregate 200 ODI wickets, as he picked up a five-wicket haul that helped drag them back into the game after Sri Lanka's openers had built a fine platform. The hosts didn't build appropriately on that excellent start, ending up at 302 for 9 in their 50 overs when they looked on course for much more.
Bangladesh began their innings in an equally good manner, with Mohammad Ashraful and Anamul Haque adding 77 runs for the first wicket. But rain delayed the chase for more than two hours, with the score at 78 for 1 in 13.4 overs.
As play restarted at 10.20pm local time, as per Duckworth-Lewis calculations, the visitors needed to score another 105 runs to win in the next 13.2 overs, and they did.
But things could have been different had Bangladesh wilted after Lasith Malinga's final over. The two wickets he claimed in that over all but sealed the series for the home side but Nasir charged at Thisara Perera in the next, the penultimate over. He took 14 out of the 18 runs required in that over, playing an easy square-cut and two proper slogs over midwicket to snatch back the momentum. With two runs to win off seven balls, Sohag Gazi top-edged one over wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara, before turning and giving his batting partner a hug.
Promoted up to No. 5, Nasir witnessed madness at the other end as the batsmen gave a chance to the calm Sri Lankan fielders and bowlers almost every over. But he minded his own end, ensuring he was there when the business end of the game came about.
The madness began when Jahurul tried to slog or take off for a suicidal single every other ball, and it contributed to his dismissal. He was batting well when not charging at the bowlers, but he thought it was a situation that called for a change from first to fifth gear. The same can be said about captain Mushfiqur Rahim, who was run out after Nasir had pushed the ball towards the bowler Perera. His deputy Mahmudullah was stringing together an important partnership with Nasir when he decided to play a reverse-sweep off Sachithra Senanayake when the team needed just 39 off 33 balls.
But the home side waited far too long to bring on the offspinner Senanayake after the rain break, and that probably cost them. Senanayake's angle from around the wicket gave the Bangladesh batsmen too much to think about, and there were several moments when wickets were just inches away. He took 2 for 26 from his six overs. Jeevan Mendis hasn't bowled an over in the series and given the visitors' weakness against legspinners, Mathews missed a trick there too.
It was a completely different game than the one played earlier in the afternoon under brilliant sunshine. Sri Lanka posted a formidable target with Tillakaratne Dilshan scoring his 16th ODI hundred, and second of the series. Along with Kusal Perera, he added 116 for the first wicket but the Bangladesh spinners gained some footing and it ultimately held Sri Lanka back in the final ten overs too.
Perera scored his first ODI fifty in the typical manner that everyone has been awed by so far in his short career. He went after the bowling from the third over when he hit a straight six, and then continued to pelt the pace bowlers who went for plenty in the first seven overs.
Dilshan went after the bowling in the two Powerplays but remained the anchor through most of the innings. However, he found little support at the other end.
The middle-order shuffle didn't help the hosts as none of Thisara Perera, Mathews or Mendis could contribute as they were expected to. It was left to Lahiru Thirimanne, who was pushed down the order, to bang out two sixes in his quickfire 25, which took them past the 300-run mark.
Razzak's five wickets apart, Mahmudullah and Sohag Gazi tightened things up whenever they were asked to bowl. Mahmudullah made up for his poor run of form with the bat, bowling his ten overs for 50 runs while Gazi was once again accurate during most parts of his spell. And in the end, it all added up to victory for Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews decided to bat after winning the toss for the second time in the ODI series. The hosts retained the same side that played in the first two games in Hambantota.
Toss
Bangladesh made one change to their line-up. They brought in pace bowler Shahadat Hossain in place of Rubel Hossain, who conceded 44 in five overs in the first ODI. Shahadat, who played the first Test but returned home after the series, was recalled because Nazmul Hossain injured his knee during training in Colombo.
There were clouds around the Pallekele International Stadium and though they looked harmless there was weather coming in from the west and a 50% chance of rain.
Sri Lanka: 1. Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Kusal Perera, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Lahiru Thirimanne, 6 Angelo Mathews (capt), 7 Jeevan Mendis, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Sachithra Senanayake, 11 Lasith Malinga.
Bangladesh: 1 Anamul Haque, 2 Jahurul Islam, 3 Mohammad Ashraful, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Nasir Hossain, 7 Mominul Haque, 8 Ziaur Rahman, 9 Sohag Gazi, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Shahadat Hossain.
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