The stage is set for the first knockout game of the 2022 Asia Cup. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are set to engage in a survival match on the 1st of September. Coming after facing a defeat at the hands of Afghanistan, both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka would look forward to clinching the match. The winner of this game will move forward in the Top 4 to further their campaign in the tournament.
Both the teams lost their campaign starter to the evolved and dangerous-looking Afghanistan team. And with two consecutive wins, Afghanistan has become the first team to enter the top 4. Moreover, India from the other group has also entered the next stage after defeating Hong Kong on Wednesday. Now, the remaining two matches in the league stage are going to be knockouts. First between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and the other being of Pakistan and Hong Kong of the other group.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka challenge each other ahead of the knockout clash
Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka believes Bangladesh will be an easier challenge in comparison to Afghanistan#SLvAFG #AsiaCup #Asiacup2022 #CricketTwitter #SrilankaCricket pic.twitter.com/pewhHttGk4
— OneCricket (@OneCricketApp) August 28, 2022
Before the knockout game between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the respective sides engaged in banter. Recently, the Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka stated that Bangladesh is an easier opponent as compared to Afghanistan. He even went on to say that Bangladesh has just a couple of world-class bowlers who can be a potential threat to Sri Lanka.
“Afghanistan has a world-class bowling attack. We know Fizz (Mustafizur Rahman) is a good bowler. Shakib is a world-class bowler. But apart from them, there is no world-class bowler on the side. So if we compare with Afghanistan, Bangladesh is an easier opponent,” Shanaka said in the pre-match conference.
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His statement, however, didn’t sit right with the Bangladesh side as they have now hit back with a statement of their own. Khaled Mahmud, team director of Bangladesh retaliated saying he can’t see even one world-class bowler on the Sri Lankan side. Moreover, he stated that he’s unaware why Dasun has gauged Bangladesh as the “easier opponent”.
Bangladesh Team Director answers back to #DasunShanaka's controversial statement.
"I don't think they have any world-class bowlers" Bangladesh team director on Sri Lanka#AsiaCup2022 #SLvsBAN #Bangladesh #SriLanka pic.twitter.com/VqnE8tnd8b
— OneCricket (@OneCricketApp) August 31, 2022
“It’s up to Dasun, why he said that or why he thinks we are (easier opponent). Maybe Afghanistan has a better T20 squad, that’s why he said that. He said a lot of other things as well, he said we have only 2 (world-class) bowlers or something. I don’t see any in Sri Lanka, at least Bangladesh has two. That’s very good. We have at least Mustafizur and Shakib, I don’t think they have world-class bowlers like them,” Bangladesh’s team director Khaled Mahmud said.
It’s now up to see who between both rise to the next stage defeating the other. However, with this latest banter, the respective sides have made the knockout clash even more thrilling.
