Sri Lanka, in the end, managed to open their account in the Super League. The team, led by Kusal Perera, beat Bangladesh in the third and final ODI by 97 runs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. In the first two matches, the Islanders were beaten black and blue. But in the last encounter, the Lankans gave glimpse of their abilities as they excelled in all the departments.

Perera plays a blinder

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Sri Lanka made their intentions clear, scoring as many as 77 runs in the powerplay with the loss of a wicket. Danushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Perera were in no mood to die wondering. Taskin Ahmed have the Tigers a breather as he pinned Gunathilaka for 39 followed by Pathum Nissanka for a four-ball duck. However, Perera carried on his own merry way.

The left-hander went on to score 120 off 122 with 11 fours and a six, guiding the Lankans to a formidable score of 286. The southpaw rode his luck as well because he was dropped three times en route his century. Dhananjaya de Silva also contributed with 55 unbeaten runs with four fours. For Bangladesh, Taskin couldn’t get a wicket in the first two games and he got four scalps in the third.

Chameera rips apart the Tigers

In the run-chase, Dushmantha Chameera’s opening spell pushed the Tigers on the backfoot. The speedster got rid of Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Naim and Shakib Al Hasan in pretty quick succession. Mushfiqur Rahim looked good for his 28 before Ramesh Mendis got rid of him. Mosaddek Hossain and Mahmudullah tried to steady the ship, but weren’t quite able to absorb the immense pressure.

Once Mendis pinned Saikat for 51 in the 32nd over, the onus fell on Mahmudullah’s shoulders. Afif Hossain rotated the strike for a while after which Wanindu Hasaranga nipped him out. In the meantime, Chameera picked up a fifer after he dismissed Shoriful Islam. Mahmudullah got out for 53 to bring the curtains down on the game. Bangladesh were bowled out for 189 runs in 42.3 overs.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to Sri Lanka’s win:

Highest wickets by a Sri Lankan bowler in a 3-match ODI series

C. Vaas – 9 (vs Zim – '94)
S. Jayasuriya – 9 (vs Ban – '07)
T. Perera – 9 (vs Pak – '14)
D. CHAMEERA – 9 (vs Ban – '21)
R. Kalpage – 8 (vs NZ – '92)#BANvSL

— Aadhil Siddhique (@AadhilSiddhique) May 28, 2021

At least we prevented a series whitewash 😍😘 #BANvSL

— Darshana (@ItsMeKande) May 28, 2021

Finally, some competitive cricket by @OfficialSLC ,hope they continue showing same intensity#WTCFinal #Cricket #BANvSL #SLvBAN #IPL2021 #IPL #WTC21 #WTC #SriLanka #Bangladesh #naagindance #kusalmendis

— Ashutosh Mittal (@IAshutoshMittal) May 28, 2021

When Kusal Janith Perera score 110+ runs in ODIs.

4 – Sri Lanka Won ☑️
0 – Sri Lanka Lost

135 – vs Ireland ☘️ in 2015
116 – vs Pakistan 🇵🇰️ in 2016
111 – vs Bangladesh 🇧🇩 in 2019
120 – vs Bangladesh 🇧🇩 in 2021#BANvSL pic.twitter.com/dpShCShDXy

— Thurunu Jayasiri (@ThurunuJ) May 28, 2021

Maiden five-wicket haul for Dushmantha Chameera in ODIs.#BANvSL #BAN #SL #Cricket #CricTracker pic.twitter.com/7ohXOwjYwy

— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) May 28, 2021

We are really ashamed of losing to a low-quality team Sri Lanka#BANvSL

— Jubayer Ahmed Safi (@JubayerSafi) May 28, 2021

Bangladesh In This Series :-

Total Runs Scored – 692

• Runs Scored By Mushfiqur & Mahmudullah – 385 (55.64%)

• Runs Scored By Others – 307 (44.36%)

Says it all !!#BANvSL

— Nafiu Kabir (@Nafiu_Shakibian) May 28, 2021

Player of the series for Sri Lanka
👉 @DuSh_Chameera …
Well played champ👏 It is always great to see a fast bowler taking 5 wickets hall in subcontinent 💯#BANvSL #Cricket

— Pubudu Perera (@pubudueperera1) May 28, 2021

High-Quality bowling spell from Chameera. Important knocks from Kusal & Dhananjaya as well. Much needed win for Sri Lanka to boost their confidence going ahead.#BANvSL #BANvsSL pic.twitter.com/FiXmSt5u4D

— 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 (@cricfire) May 28, 2021