Tharanga, Jayawardene hit tons as Sri Lanka make final
By IANSFriday, January 8, 2010
DHAKA - Centuries from Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene guided Sri Lanka into the final of the tri-nation series with a convincing nine-wicket win over Bangladesh in the fourth One-Day International at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur here Friday.
Chasing 250 to win, Sri Lanka made 252 for one in 45.2 overs after opener Tharanga made an unbeaten 118 and Jayawardene struck 108.
The duo with their 215-run partnership grinded the Bangladeshi bowlers as the hosts suffered their second consecutive loss in 24 hours. Tharanga was adjudged the Man of the Match.
Earlier, Bangladesh, put in to bat, made a good start with openers Tamim Iqbal (21) and Imrul Kayes (42) adding 44 runs for the opening wicket.
But despite the decent start, Bangladeshi batsmen failed to build good partnerships, as pacers Thissara Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara, and off-spinner Suraj Randiv picked up two wickets each.
Skipper Shakib Al Hasan was the top scorer with 47 while Raqibul Hasan made 43.
