Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh, 2nd ODI - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

BAN 238/8 (50.0)

SL 242/3 (44.4)

Sri Lanka won by 7 wkts

Dimuth Karunaratne seems to be the crisis man for Sri Lanka. Became the Test captain out of nowhere this year and led them to a historical series win in SA, then similarly found himself as the ODI captain before the World Cup. The team didn't make the knockouts but still did decently well with their squad strength. And now, the drought of a home series win is broken under his leadership in his first series in Sri Lanka. Happy times for the Lankans as they look to rebuild towards the next World Cup. Bangladesh have been poor in both the games, especially during vital moments. Certainly need a kick up their backsides. That's it from us today then. Do join us for the next game between the two sides. It might be a dead rubber technically but it's dedicated to Nuwan Kulasekara who has retired recently. The Lankans will want to win that for him. Until next time, this is Hari Sadanandan signing off on behalf of Abhinand Raghavendran and Siva MD. Cheers and goodnight!

Dimuth Karunaratne, winning captain: We did really well and it was on our minds that we hadn't won at home in a long time. It was challenging against Bangladesh but we did really well. We wanted to bat first but that's how things go. Bowlers did a good job and put their hands up. Akila came after a long time to the team and did really well. Did his job perfectly of keeping the pressure. Avishka was told to play freely as we knew that the wicket will turn more as the innings progresses. Unfortunate that he couldn't get his hundred, hopefully he will do it in the future.

Tamim Iqbal, losing captain: We won an important toss because we knew that the pitch will spin later on. We added a spinner for the same reason. I did tell at the toss that we needed to start well but losing four wickets early didn't help. Not a 300 kind of pitch but at least 260 would have been a good score. The way we bowled today, I doubt if even 300 would have been enough. We had our moments in both the games but we just aren't ready to do the hard work to push ourselves across the line.

Avishka Fernando, Man of the Match: I don't mind batting at the top or at number three. Happy to bat anywhere for the team. I am disappointed to not get to the three-figure mark and hopefully, I can convert my starts into bigger knocks in the future. The track was a bit slow and also spun a bit. I am glad that I was able to make a contribution.

Angelo Mathews: We haven't been playing very good cricket over the past couple of years. It's been disappointing, we have disappointed the fans. But, they have turned out in numbers, thank them for backing us all the way and coming to watch us play We (Mathews and Mendis) were just talking that we have a lot of time. We just had to get in and get set. The wicket wasn't easy, it was turning quite a lot and stopping for the seamers. Credit to Bangladesh, they put us under a lot of pressure. It was a tough wicket to bat on. Kusal played brilliantly after Avishka's brilliant knock.

21:54 Local Time, 16:24 GMT, 21:54 IST: Another clinical performance from the Lankans. 238 wasn't a challenging total but certainly workable on a pitch that had some help for the spinners and those who took pace off. Bangladesh's bowlers weren't accurate enough though, and their spinners were too inconsistent to make use of the surface. Take no credit away from the Lankans as Fernando's blistering innings set the game up nicely for the hosts, so well that even a couple of quick wickets didn't really hurt them. Mathews and Mendis put their heads down to take their side past the finish line. Bangladesh's fielding was also shoddy, which only made matters worse, given the inadequate performance from their bowlers. Consecutive defeats and both really hurting ones at that, Bangladesh will be stinging for sure. On the other hand, Sri Lanka will be jubilant as it's been a long drought in white-ball cricket for them.

44.4

Sabbir Rahman to Mathews, FOUR, first ODI series win at home for SL in 44 months!That's a long wait really but it's finally come. Mathews finishes it off with a positive blow over mid-on, clean strike and it's double whammy for him as he gets to his 50 as well

44.3

Sabbir Rahman to Mathews, no run, flatter and shorter on off, Mathews punches from the crease to cover

44.2

Sabbir Rahman to Mathews, FOUR, smashed away! Another long hop from Sabbir and Mathews capitalizes on it this time. Sits back and mauls the pull over mid-wicket. Nobody in the deep

44.1

Sabbir Rahman to Mathews, no run, tossed up really full on off, dug out back to Sabbir