Sri Lanka, Bangladesh battle injuries going into series decider

• Madushanka, Tanzim ruled out of today’s day game

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Dilshan Madushanka

Tanzim Hasan Sakib

`Sri Lanka and Bangladesh who are locked at one win apiece in the three-match ODI series go into the decisive third contest which is a day game at Chattogram today battling with injuries to key fast 

bowlers.

A Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) media release states that fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka will take no further part in the ongoing tour of Bangladesh and will return home to commence rehabilitation work after suffering an injury during the second ODI at Chattogram which Sri Lanka won by three wickets to level the series 1-all.

“Madushanka who left the field during the second ODI while bowling has suffered a left hamstring injury as confirmed by an MRI scan performed on the player,” states the release.

Madushanka’s absence will be a big blow for Sri Lanka as he has been the spearhead of the bowling attack getting the initial breakthrough for his team in the first two ODIs capturing two early wickets in his first spell.

Madushanka is expected to be sidelined for several weeks which casts doubt on his participation in the first half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he is down to make his debut for Mumbai Indians. Along with his colleague Nuwan Thushara, Madushanka was among the new players acquired by Mumbai Indians in the IPL auction. He was bought for INR 4.6 crore to form a formidable fast bowling combination with India’s Jasprit Bumrah.

Madushanka’s absence leaves Sri Lanka with only two front line fast bowlers in their squad Pramod Madushan and Lahiru Kumara. The only option left for them is to bring in fast bowling all-rounder Chamika Karunaratne if they require an extra seamer. In the first two matches it has been the fast bowlers of both teams who have been dominant capturing 21 of the 28 wickets to fall. Under lights the ball had swung and helped the fast bowlers in the first two matches. However with today’s contest being a day game and being played on one of the pitches used for the first two matches, Sri Lanka may not require a third seamer but opt for a spinner.

Bangladesh are also hit by an injury to one of their key fast bowlers Tanzim Hasan Sakib who has been ruled out of today’s game with a right hamstring injury. Tanzim picked up the injury during a training session on Sunday.

Tanzim played a crucial part in Bangladesh’s win in the first ODI breaking the back of Sri Lanka’s batting with a three-wicket burst before pulling up in the ninth over with a strained hamstring. He however returned to the field to hold onto an acrobatic catch to end the Sri Lanka innings. He managed only one wicket in the second ODI conceding 65 runs in his 10 overs.

Bangladesh have not named a replacement for Tanzim as they have a third fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman in their 15-member squad who could play alongside Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam.

Bangladesh have also dropped their out of form opener Litton Das for today’s game and replaced him with wicket-keeper/batsman Jaker Ali in the squad.

Bangladesh’s new chairman of selectors former Captain Gazi Ashroff Hossain said on social media, “We are not keeping him (Litton) in this squad anymore, because of his inconsistency against the new ball.”

Litton was dismissed for a first ball duck in the first ODI and a third ball duck in the second, falling on both occasions to left-armer Madushanka. He also had a poor run in the three T20Is which Sri Lanka won 2-1, being dismissed for scores of 0, 36 and 7.