Sri Lanka's Fielding Masterclass Fuels ODI Victory Over Bangladesh, Hasaranga Hails Key Plays

Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga has lauded his team's exceptional fielding performance in the first ODI against Bangladesh, which contributed significantly to their 77-run victory.

Sri Lanka's sharp fielding turns the tide. © BCB

Bangladesh, who were comfortably placed at 100/1, experienced a dramatic collapse triggered by a brilliant run-out of Najmul Hossain (23) by Milan Rathnayake from deep square leg. Following Litton Das's dismissal for a duck, Tanzid Hasan, who had reached his half-century, held the key to Bangladesh's chase. However, Janith Liyanage's stunning catch at mid-off marked the beginning of a spectacular batting collapse.

"Milan Rathnayake was outstanding, and so was Janith Liyanage," Hasaranga commented. "We have demonstrated how our fielding can transform games, and this match serves as further evidence. They were cruising at one stage, but Milan's run-out changed the momentum. Then, Janith Liyanage's incredible catch swung the game in our favor."

Hasaranga expressed confidence in defending their total after posting a score of nearly 250. "The pitch at RPS is typical. Based on our experiences against Australia and India, we were confident that a score between 240 and 250, when batting first, would be defensible with our bowling attack. It is a usual RPS pitch," Hasaranga stated.

He also noted the tactical decisions made during the game. "I think they felt that they should go with a seam heavy attack. But you need to adjust to conditions quickly. Bangladeshi batters took on our quicks probably knowing that when the spinners come on it will be tough to score runs. Asitha bowled well as he usually does. I think it was good to see the way the bowlers adjusted," he said. He further elaborated on the decision to introduce him later in the innings, specifically in the 18th over, due to strategic reasons.

"Charith, Kusal and I had a chat and we decided to hold myself back. The plan was that since they have too many left-handers in the top order, for me to come as late as possible and attack the right-handers," he explained.

Hasaranga also praised the batting unit's resilience, noting their positive trajectory under Charith Asalanka's leadership. "He (Charith) goes around his business as a mature player. He handles the middle situations well and gets the other batters to build partnerships," Hasaranga said.

"He has a knack to get the best out of his batting partners. He has been key for our success and he has been amongst runs for us in the last 18 months or so. Every batter has started contributing for the team. That's something that we didn't have a few years ago. Why we are wining consistently nowadays is that the batters are doing their job and things are made easy for the bowlers."

Despite battling injuries, Hasaranga expressed his satisfaction in contributing to the team's success, especially as he celebrated his 100th ODI wicket on his international debut anniversary. "I missed a lot of cricket due to my injuries and the surgery that I had to undergo. The toughest part was missing a World Cup due to injury and very happy to have contributed for the success of Sri Lanka as I am proud about it," said Hasaranga.

"I wasn't aware of the 1000-run milestone but I knew I just needed one wicket for 100 wickets. It's a day I complete eight years as an international cricketer and very pleased with this and I hope to continue in the same way."