Sri Lanka registered a consolation victory in the third and last ODI against Bangladesh, on Friday, 28 May. Chasing 287 to win, the hosts were restricted to 189, courtesy Dushmantha Chameera’s 5-16. Bangladesh, however, claimed the series 2-1. This was the first ever series win for Bangladesh over Sri Lanka across formats. Let us look at how Bangladesh’s cricketers fared in the series:
Mushfiqur Rahim: 9 (M 3, R 237, Avg 79)
Mushfiqur was clearly the outlier among batters. Amassing 237 runs at 79, he topped the runs charts from either side by some distance. He started proceedings on a high, and carried on the momentum in the subsequent matches. In the first ODI, his 87-ball 84 averted a top-order collapse. He then followed it with a 127-ball 125.
Mahmudullah 8 (M 3, R 148, Avg 75.13)
Mahmudullah forged important partnerships with Mushfiqur in the first two matches where the top order faltered. He scored 54 and 41 in these matches. He notched up his second fifty of the series in the third match, albeit in a losing cause.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz 8 (M 3, W 7, Avg 15.14)
With eight wickets, Miraz was Bangladesh’s wicket-taker in the series. Twice in a row, he bailed out Bangladesh with four-wicket hauls after they put on a mediocre totals. He then went wicket-less in the last game.
Mustafizur Rahman 7.5 (M3, W6, Avg 16.17)
The Fizz had a decent international comeback, picking up three wickets each in the first two matches. He was slightly expensive in the last game.
Tamim Iqbal 5 (M 3, R 82, Ave 27.33)
Tamim could not carry on the momentum from the recently concluded Test series against Sri Lanka. He scored 52, 13, and 17.
Taskin Ahmed 5 (M3, W4, Ave 33.75)
Taskin did not get wickets in the first two games, but came to his own in the third. He had figures of 9-0-46-4.
Mosaddek Hossain 4 (M2, R 61, Ave 30.50)
Mosaddek featured in the last two matches of the series. He scored 10 and 51.
Afif Hossain 3.5 (M 3, W 53, Ave 26.50)
Afif managed only 53 runs in three innings. However, it was his quickfire 27 that helped Bangladesh post a respectable total in the first match.
Liton Das 3.5 (M2, R 25, Ave 12.50)
This was an ordinary series for Liton, who aggregated 25 runs in two matches before losing his place to Mohammad Naim.
Shakib Al Hasan 3 (M3, R 19, W 3, Ave 43.33)
Shakib made a comeback to the international scene after a long exile. He bowled tight spells but failed with the bat.
Mohammad Saifuddin 3 (M2, R 24, Ave 24, W 2, Ave 24.50)
Saifuddin scored 24 runs and got out once, but that was a run out. He also picked up two wickets in the first game.
Shoriful Islam 3 (M 2, W 2, Ave 43)
Shoriful couldn’t make much of an impact in the series, picking up two wickets in two games before warming the bench for the final ODI.
Mohammad Naim 1.5 (M 1, R 1, Ave 1)
Naim scored 1 in his only innings.