Despite losing four early wickets Bangladesh posted 257-6 in the first ODI against Sri Lanka thanks to a solid 109-run partnership between Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah on Sunday.
Bangladesh lost four wickets below 100 runs after they won the toss and opted to bat first at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
Mushfifqur hit 84 off 87 balls, the top scorer for the hosts. He hit four boundaries and one six.
Tamim Iqbal hit 52 while Mahmudullah Riyad posted 54 to help the Tigers post a challenging total.
In the fifth wicket stand, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah added 109 runs off 122 balls. It was the highest partnership in Bangladesh’s innings.
After 40 overs, Bangladesh were batting on 193 for four. They needed to come up with some big shots in the last 10 overs, but the dismissals of Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah made it difficult for the hosts.
In the sixth and seventh-wicket stand, Bangladesh added 22 and 27 respectively.
Afif Hossain hit an unbeaten 27 off 22 and Mohammad Saifuddin remained unbeaten on 13 off 9 balls.
Liton Das and Mohammad Mithun were dismissed on a duck.
For Sri Lanka, Dhananjaya de Silva was outstanding with the ball. He bagged three wickets with two-in-two conceding 47 runs. Dushmantha Chameera, Danushka Gunathilaka and Lakshan Sandakan took a wicket each.
The three-match series is a part of the World Cup Super League. Bangladesh have already played six matches of this event and won three of them. The top seven teams of this event will get a direct qualification to the World Cup 2023.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, played three matches of the World Cup Super League and lost all.
With this series, Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman are back to the Bangladesh side after missing out on the Sri Lanka tour for a two-match Test series.
The remaining matches will take place on May 25 and 28 respectively at the same venue.