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'There's No Frontline Bowlers...,' Dasun Shanaka On Need To Deliver For Sri Lanka

Aakash Saini

image-lmcdzwtyDasun Shanaka celebrates a Bangladesh wicket in Asia Cup 2023 (AP)

Birthday boy and Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka celebrated the occasion with an emphatic 21-run win over Bangladesh in their Asia Cup 2023 Super Four clash in Colombo. The star all-rounder scored crucial runs with the bat before claiming three wickets in the Bangladeshi run-chase later in the game.

After the match, Shanaka revealed the real reason behind his bowling success in the innings and also praised his teammates for Sri Lanka’s thrilling win, which also marked their 13th successive one in ODIs.

Shanaka praises Samarawickrama for splendid knock

Dasun Shanaka turned 32 on September 9, the same day he led his troops against Bangladesh in their opening Super Four clash of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023. The cricketer claimed three wickets in the Bangladesh innings, and eventually finished with figures of 3-28 from his nine overs.

Watch: Dasun Shanaka dazzles with the ball on birthday

Apparently, Shanaka took inspiration from Bangladesh pacer Hasan Mahmud’s performance from the same game. During the post-match presentation, the Sri Lankan captain said that he tried hitting the same areas Mahmud did during the Sri Lankan innings, all while sticking to his own basics as well. He said:

“The Bangladesh bowlers bowled really well, specially Hasan Mahmud so I thought if I hit the same areas it would work well so I stuck to my basics.”

Dasun Shanaka also praised team’s front-line spinner Maheesh Theekshana for chipping in with three wickets from his end. The all-rounder veteran further hailed Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama for their splendid batting efforts, as the latter’s 93 turned out to be a pivotal difference between the two sides at the end.

“When there's no frontline bowlers so someone needs to chip in and today was my day. Maheesh wasn't able to bowl up front but at the end, Maheesh bowled in the end and in the end the result matters. Our players, specially Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama played really well, read the wicket very well.”

Sri Lanka’s 21-run win also consigned Bangladesh to their second successive Super Four defeat, thus crashing them out of the Asia Cup 2023 race. Dasun Shanaka and co. will now face India in Colombo on September 12.