Sri Lanka's Fielding Masterclass Fuels ODI Victory Over Bangladesh, Credits Hasaranga

Sri Lanka's Fielding Prowess Key to Victory, Says Hasaranga

Wanindu Hasaranga, the Sri Lankan leg-spinner, attributed his team's impressive fielding performance as a crucial factor in their 77-run victory over Bangladesh in the opening ODI. The energetic fielding display significantly contributed to the win.

Sri Lanka's efforts on the field made a huge difference in the end. © BCB

Bangladesh appeared to be in a comfortable position at 100/1 before a series of breakthroughs triggered a collapse. Milan Rathnayake's accurate throw from deep square leg resulted in a vital run-out of Najmul Hossain (23). Subsequently, Janith Liyanage's spectacular catch at mid-off ended Tanzid Hasan's half-century, further turning the tide in Sri Lanka's favor. Litton Das was dismissed for a duck early in the innings.

"Milan Rathnayake was outstanding, and so was Janith Liyanage," Hasaranga commented. "We've demonstrated our ability to change games through our fielding, and this match serves as further evidence of that. They were cruising at one point, but Milan's run-out shifted the momentum. Janith Liyanage's stunning catch then sealed the deal, swinging the game in our direction."

Hasaranga expressed confidence in defending their total after posting nearly 250 runs. "It's a typical RPS wicket. From our experiences playing against Australia and India, we knew that a first-innings score between 240 and 250 would be defensible with our bowling attack. It's the usual RPS pitch," Hasaranga stated.

He also commented on Bangladesh's strategy. "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 adding that they decided to bring him as late as in the 18th over due to a tactical reason.

Hasaranga explained the tactical decision to delay his introduction into the attack until the 18th over. "Charith, Kusal, and I discussed it and decided I should hold myself back. The plan was to bring me on as late as possible and target the right-handers, given their abundance of left-handers in the top order," he said.

He lauded the batting unit's resurgence in ODIs, attributing it to 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," said Hasaranga.

"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 past injuries, Hasaranga expressed his satisfaction in contributing to the team, marking his 100th ODI wicket on his international debut's eighth 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."