By Vadiraj Kanakagiri

Finally we, the fans, got to see at least one high scoring game in this world cup. Although it wasn't a 200 played 200 sort of game, but the totals were way higher than what we're getting everyday. Of all the big teams with blockbuster batting line ups that were expected to provide some fireworks, it was Bangladeshi and Srilankan batters that made the ball fly, all around the park.

After losing the toss and put into bat, skipper Mahmudullah did mention that they had planned to bat first as well. And it showed in their approach to this innings that they had set clear plans for a high score. After Liton Das threw his wicket away after a little start, Shakib too got out rather early to his standards, on 10.

Mohammed Naim joined hands with the veteran Rahim for the fourth wicket and built an amazing partnership without taking many risks. If the narrative for the game was to be slow moving once the ball got softer, it was a total change in script as the scoring got quicker. Rahim in particular, looked so dominant against the spin, employing the slog sweeps and conventional sweeps to great effect.

Naim played a sensible knock and got out for 65 where Rahim remained unbeaten on 57 and made sure the total crossed the 170 mark. Bangladesh were very content with the total and the whole dugout was all already in celebration mode.

But the thing was, Bangladesh didn't struggle their way into this total. Neither did they put on an extraordinary batting display. They were just able to attempt big shots confidently because the pitch was a belter to bat on. There were no demons in this wicket as such. So obviously Srilanka had a pretty good chance to chase it down too. And they did. That too convincingly.

The Lankans were rocked early though as the hard hitting Kusal Perera was cleaned up by a Nasum Ahmed off spinner on the very first over. It did seem like the wicket was having demons and only the Bangla bowlers were able to exploit it. But only for a little while though. In came another southpaw, Charitha Asalanka, who has been a regular in this line up for some time now, but haven't had a significant innings to his have yet. And he made it count yesterday.

He made it clear to the Bangladeshis from the outset that he wasn't just gonna bog down and nudge and nurdle the spinners. He spanked Nasum for two massive sixes in the third over itself and started to put pressure on the bowling. Apart from one economic over from Shakib, Asalanka and Nissanka made good use of field restrictions as they ended powerplay at 54 for 1.

Mahmudullah, though, was very confident about the score. He held back the Fizz till very late and brought him on in the seventh over. He must've thought three overs from the Fizz at the backend should seal the deal for them. Asalanka too knew this and he had brilliant plans himself.

Out of all the bowlers from the Tigers, Shakib and Mustafizur were hard to score off. And Shakib did turn the game on its head at one stage, by picking up two wickets in the ninth over and conceding just one. Wanindu Hasaranga came in and slogged one of the very few deliveries he faced straight into the hands of deep mid.

Three wickets fell in quick succession and Bangladesh were right on top. But one thing was pretty consistent. It was a left handers day, apart from, maybe, Mushfiq Rahim. So Srilanka sent in another left hander at No.7 in Bhanuka Rajapaksa. And he provided all the support he could and some to the set batter Asalanka.

The two of them played brilliantly together to be honest. As Mahmudullah held his trump cards in Shakib and the Fizz for the final overs, this batting duo started belting the other bowlers all round the park to get themselves ahead of the required rate. In this period, Liton Das dropped two dollies, which didn't help Mahmudullah's plans either.

Before the Bangla skipper could bring on his main bowlers, the Srilankan pair had almost sealed the game in their favour. Mahmudullah too, took forever to bring on their best bets. It felt too further, when he brought on Saifuddin to bowl the sixteenth over, with both Shakib and the Fizz still having two overs each, and Saifuddin leaked 22 runs in this over to make his skipper's decision look worse.

Shakib did come on to bowl, with the equation reading 24 needed off 24. And the dynamic  Srilankan duo took Shakib on too and smashed him for a six. They finished off the game in the nineteenth over, handing the Bangladeshis a defeat that was much harder to take than usual.

Brief scores: Bangladesh 171/4 in 20 overs (Mohammad Naim 62, Mushfiqur Rahim 57) lost to Sri Lanka 172/5 in 18.5 overs (Charith Asalanka 80*, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 53; Shakib al Hasan 2-17) by five wickets