Sri Lanka opening batsman Danushka Gunathilaka said their 10-wicket victory over host Bangladesh in the tri-nation ODI series at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka Thursday will boost them going into the all-important title-decider against the same opponent.
Sri Lanka went into their final league game of the series, against Bangladesh, with their backs against the wall. The island nation needed to win the game and surpass Zimbabwe in order to advance to the final. The Lankans accomplished the mission in style, first restricting Bangladesh for just 82 before chasing down the paltry target in 11.5 overs without loss.
The Lankans came into the series backed by a dreadful 2017 where they won five times in 29 attempts. Gunathilaka said the two wins in the series, one each against Zimbabwe and the Tigers, will boost their confidence level.
“Last year we did not do well in white-ball cricket. The last two wins are very helpful for us, especially our confidence will get higher now. So we are looking forward to the final,” said the Sri Lanka all-rounder following their big win against Bangladesh.
Bangladesh with all-round performances had dominated the series prior to yesterday’s game, by not only winning the first three league matches to qualify for the final, but also with bonus points.
When queried if the Lankans were surprised to see Bangladesh collapse in such a way, Gunathilaka, who was unbeaten on 35 off as many balls, said, “We were not surprised because we know that if we play to our strength we can beat any team in the world. We got back to good performance and I think we need to continue the good things.
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