Hosts Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by five wickets to kickstart the Asia Cup 2023 with a big win.
The Lankans put forth a stunning all-round display to pull off a one-sided victory.
This dominant performance was set up by a magical bowling effort by the hosts as Mahesh Theekshana and Dhananjaya de Silva reduced Bangladesh to 36-3 in the first 10 overs.
On the back of this start, Matheesha Pathirana marauded through the middle and lower batting order and finished with four wickets while giving away just 32 runs in 7.4 overs.
On a difficult batting day, Najmul Hossain Shanto was Bangladesh's lone warrior as he ended with a hard-fought 89 off 122 balls with seven boundaries.
Thanks to an efficient Sri Lankan bowling effort, the hosts only had to chase 165 but got off to a shaky start by losing three wickets by the 10th over.
Steading the Lankan innings, Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka stitched up a crucial partnership and carried their team to the win.
Asalanka stayed till the end and hit winning runs as he ended up with a score of 62 in 92 balls with five fours and one six.
