Twitter Reactions: Mushfiqur Rahim and bowlers maul hapless Sri Lanka in event opener

Rahim turned out to be the difference between the two sides.

By Sabyasachi Chowdhury

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Upul Tharanga
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Upul Tharanga. (Photo Source: Twitter)

The opener of the Asia Cup 2018 was a witness to a one-sided encounter between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at Dubai International Cricket Stadium as the former thumped the Lankans by a mammoth margin of 137 runs. The Tigers found themselves in a rabbit hole, but Mushfiqur Rahim’s masterful knock pulled them out of the pits. The bowlers strangled the Lankan batsmen to complete their comprehensive triumph.

Mushfiqur guides Bangladesh to respectability

Mashrafe Mortaza won the toss and had no hesitation to bat first, however, the start wasn’t an auspicious one for them by any means as Lasith Malinga removed Liton Das and Shakib Al Hasan in the very first over. Thereafter Tamim Iqbal walked off after suffering a wrist injury. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Mithun buckled down and cobbled together a stand of 131 runs.

The stand was broken by Malinga with the wicket of Mithun, who scored 63 runs. Bangladesh lost their way thereafter and were reduced to 229/9 with three overs to play. Rahim notched his sixth ton and eventually scored 144 runs to lift his team to 261 runs. Moreover, Tamim came to bat with a fractured wrist and his gutsy approach was greeted with appreciations from every nook and corner of the world.

Lanka huff and puff

Sri Lanka started their run-chase briskly courtesy of a flurry of boundaries from opener Upul Tharanga. Mustafizur Rahman drew first blood by dismissing Kusal Mendis and Tharanga was nipped out by Mortaza in the very next over. Mathews and Co couldn’t garner any momentum after their openers went back to the hut. Mortaza picked up his second wicket in the form of Dhananjaya de Silva.

Mathews and Shanaka tried to stave off the bowlers, but could only score 16 and seven runs respectively. Thisara Perera tried to break the shackles and perished in the quest of upping the scoring rate. By the half-way mark of Lanka’s chase, the match had already become a formality. In the end, Mortaza’s men brushed aside their rivals with 14.4 overs remaining.

Here is how Twitter reacted

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