Bangladesh ended Sri Lanka's dreams of reaching the Cricket World Cup 2023 semifinals with a hard-fought three-wicket win in a match filled with controversies on Monday. The win meant that Bangladesh grabbed the seventh spot in the standings while Sri Lanka fell to eighth. While both sides cannot reach the knockout stage in this competition, the fight for a spot in the Champions Trophy 2025 continues. The top 7 teams along with hosts Pakistan will qualify directly for the competition and as a result, both sides remain in contention along with Netherlands (4 points) and England (2 points).
But Bangladesh chased down the target with 53 balls to spare.
Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan (82), who took 2 for 57 with the ball, and Najmul Hossain Shanto (90) shared a 169-run stand off 147 balls to lay the foundation of the run chase.
From 210 for 2, Bangladesh slumped to 269 for 7 before romping home in 41.1 overs with Tanzim Hasan Sakib (9) scoring the winning runs.
The win snapped Bangladesh's six-match losing streak and kept them in the race for the Champions Trophy qualification, while denting Sri Lanka's chances for the 2025 event in Pakistan.
The top seven teams from this World Cup will qualify for the Champions Trophy, while Pakistan, being the hosts, have qualified automatically.
For Sri Lanka, it was their sixth loss in eight games. Both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, who are at four points each, need to finish inside the top-8 to make the cut.
(With PTI inputs)