Left-handed opener Parvez Hossain Emon hit a half-century after Bangladesh lost the opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim, and Najmul Hossain Shanto in the second ODI in Colombo on Saturday.
But he fell, scoring 67 off 69 balls. After the 20th over, Bangladesh were batting at 110 for three.
Bangladesh won the toss in this match and opted to bat first. But they lost the opener, Tanzid, to Asitha Fernando quickly, which put them under early pressure.
Asitha Fernando bagged the first wicket with a knuckle ball, which angled across.
Bangladesh win toss, elect to bat first in must-win second ODI
However, in the second wicket stand, Parvez and Najmul added 63 runs to steady the innings.
Scoring 14 runs, Najmul fell to Charith Asalanka off a long-hop delivery.
Bangladesh made two changes to their playing XI bringing Shamim Hossain and Hasan Mahmud in to replace Litton Das and Taskin Ahmed.
Bangladesh lost the first ODI, making the second ODI a must-win encounter for them.