Second string Sri Lanka send Bangladesh home empty handed from bronze match

Bangladesh's cricket campaign at the Asian Games ended without a single medal, Sri Lanka's second string side beating them by 63 runs in the bronze medal match at Korogi Sports Park on Saturday.

Sri Lanka, batting first after winning the toss, had looked in real trouble early on, losing four wickets inside four overs and sitting at 63 for five after 13, before a remarkable late assault dragged them to 165 for nine from their 20 overs.

Tharindu Ratnayake, coming in at number seven, produced a career best 65 off 32 balls, striking seven fours and five sixes, while sharing a 93 run partnership with captain Sahan Arachchige, who contributed 33 off 37 balls.

The turning point arrived in the 14th over, when Mustafizur Rahman leaked 25 runs in a single over littered with no balls and wides, including 14 runs off one legal delivery alone, a spell eerily similar to the 41 he had conceded against Pakistan in the semi-final.

Rishad Hossain fared little better, conceding 46 runs across four overs including one spell of 21 in a single over, as 83 runs flowed in total across five overs between the 14th and 18th, turning a modest Sri Lankan total into a defendable one.

Bangladesh's reply collapsed almost immediately, with Saif Hassan, Tanzid Hasan and captain Litton Das all dismissed without scoring, the first three batters in the order failing to trouble the scorers as Nuwan Thushara and Ratnayake made early inroads.

Towhid Hridoy managed only 11 before also departing cheaply, leaving Bangladesh at 72 for eight before Nasum Ahmed's 26 helped them past three figures, the innings eventually folding for 102 in 17.3 overs.

Sri Lanka celebrated their bronze with a lap of honour, having already secured silver in the women's event, while Bangladesh's men and women's teams both finished without a medal, extending a miserable Asian Games in which the country managed just one bronze overall, in wushu.