Asia Cup 2022 | Dasun Shanaka labels Bangladesh 'easier opponent', Mehidy Hasan replies 'will meet in the field'

Sri Lanka's Asia Cup campaign got off to a humiliating start as they were bundled out for a paltry 105 by Afghanistan on a decent Dubai pitch. In response, the bowlers were pummelled by Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, as the Afghans eventually ran out winners by eight wickets with 58 balls still to spare. The majority of the damage was done by Fazalhaq Farooqi who rained chaos with the new ball and ended up with figures of 3.4-1-11.3. Naveen ul Haq and Mohammad Nabi chipped in with two scalps each as well while Rashid Khan ensured he kept the batsmen under pressure with an economy of just 3. 

"I don't want to make a comment that this team is good and this team is bad. I think good and bad are proved in the field. A good team can lose if they play badly on that specific day and similarly a bad team can win if they play a good game of cricket," he stated.

In the last five encounters between the two nations, Sri Lanka have won three to Bangladesh's two but all encounters have been tightly contested. Nevertheless, Bangladesh will first have to go through Afghanistan on Tuesday to open their campaign before going face to face against Sri Lanka which will surely decide the fate of the group.