At present, winning against Sri Lanka is not out of reach for Bangladesh. However, there was a time when Bangladesh had to battle hard to snatch victory against the Lankans. Bangladesh have emerged as one of the strongest one-day international teams in the world after overcoming those challenges. But, tiger cricket fans are still overwhelmed with emotion when they recall those historic victories. Bangladesh cricket has undoubtedly progressed to this point as a result of some outstanding victories over the years. This article discusses, five times when Bangladesh stunned Sri Lanka. So, without further ado let’s take a look at the list. 

Bangladesh’s five memorable victories against Sri Lanka

5) Nidahas Twenty20 Tri-Series (March, 2018)

In 2018, the T20 format Nidahas Trophy was a memorable series for Bangladesh.Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka in both matches in the group stage of this series. Sri Lankan fans expected their team to face India in the final, but Bangladesh secured the final by defeating Sri Lanka by 2 wickets in the do-or-die match. In that match, Mahmudullah Riyad smashed a 43-run unbeaten innings in 18 balls to ensure Bangladesh's victory. The departure of the host before the final was intolerable to the Sri Lankans.

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4) Asia Cup (February, 2016)

Bangladesh took on Sri Lanka in the third match of the 2016 Asia Cup. Bangladesh had no choice but to win the match in order to advance to the final. The tigers were expecting to defeat the Lankans since the tournament is in T20 format. Bangladesh scored 147 runs for 7 wickets, thanks to Sabbir Rahman's superb innings of 80 runs off 54 balls. In response, Sri Lanka only scored 124 runs in 20 overs for the loss of 8 wickets. Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka by 23 runs and drowned them in despair.

3) Bilateral Test Series (March, 2017)

Bangladesh's only Test victory over Sri Lanka came in Colombo in 2017. Bangladesh scored 467 runs in response to Sri Lanka's 337 in the first innings to take a 129-run lead. Bangladesh were able to take control of the match after taking a first-inning lead of more than 100 runs.Bangladesh reached the winning target of 191 runs for the loss of six wickets thanks to Tamim Iqbal's 82 runs. As a result, Bangladesh won the match by four wickets. It was one of Bangladesh's greatest victories in the country's Test cricket history.

Read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka: Top five memorable performances in Test Cricket

2) Asia Cup (March, 2012)

Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets in a do-or-die match to secure the 2012 Asia Cup final against Pakistan, and tiger fans were ecstatic after that victory. Shakib Al Hasan was instrumental in Bangladesh's win, he batted and bowled beautifully in that match. Batting first, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 232 with one ball to spare. In a rain-affected match, Bangladesh reached the winning target for the loss of 5 wickets with 17 balls to spare. The best player of the match, Shakib Al Hasan took two wickets with the ball and scored 56 off 46 balls with the bat.

1)      Bilateral ODI Series (February, 2006)

In 2006, Bangladesh secured it’s first-ever victory against Sri Lanka in the second match of the bilateral ODI series in Bogra. Bangladesh shocked the cricketing world by beating Sri Lanka by four wickets. While batting first, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 212 runs.In reply, Bangladesh reached the winning target by losing 6 wickets with two overs in hand. Talented Aftab Ahmed won the player of the match award after his brilliant all-round display.

Read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka: Recap of the Key Test Records

Bottom Line

Even a decade earlier, defeating Sri Lanka was a tough task. So this list of ‘five times when Bangladesh stunned Sri Lanka’ is truly special achievements for Bangladesh.Bangladesh will be able to snare many more historic victories in the future, not just against Sri Lanka but also against other major teams, if they continue improving. And hopefully, the roaring tigers' will win the World Cup one day.

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