Ratnayake's 65 from 32 balls lifts Sri Lanka to Asian Games bronze over Bangladesh

Sri Lanka recovered from 21 for 4 to beat Bangladesh by 63 runs at Korogi Sports Park and take the Asian Games men’s cricket bronze medal

Two days after being bowled out for 45 by India in the semi-final, Sri Lanka returned to the same ground in Nisshin and won the third-place play-off at a canter, posting 165 for 9 from their 20 overs and dismissing Bangladesh for 102 in 17.3.

The turnaround belonged almost entirely to Tharindu Ratnayake, whose 65 from 32 balls carried seven fours and five sixes and dragged an innings that had subsided to 21 for 4 back into contention.

He was not finished there. Ratnayake returned 2-18 from three overs as Bangladesh slipped to 18 for 4 inside four overs of the chase and never threatened to recover.

Four down for 21

Sahan Arachchige won the toss and batted, and for the first hour the decision looked a poor one. Sri Lanka lost four wickets while 21 runs were scored, the top order undone by movement and by a Bangladesh attack that bowled a full length throughout.

Mahedi Hasan was the most economical of them, finishing with 2-19 from his four overs. Saif Hassan took 2-28 from three.

At the halfway mark Sri Lanka were 51 for 4, a position from which 120 looked optimistic rather than conservative.

Ratnayake and Arachchige turn the innings

What followed was the passage that decided the medal. Ratnayake and Arachchige put on 93 together, the captain holding an end with 33 from 37 balls while his partner attacked almost every bowler Bangladesh turned to.

Ratnayake’s range was the difference. Five sixes in a 32-ball innings on a ground that had not been yielding them freely took the game away from Bangladesh in the space of a few overs.

Ashen Bandara added 18 from 24 lower down, and Sri Lanka scored 114 of their runs after the ten-over mark. Mustafizur Rahman finished with 2-43 from three overs.

Bangladesh lose four inside four overs

Any hope that 165 was gettable disappeared almost immediately. Bangladesh were 18 for 4 by the end of the fourth over, the top order dismantled before the field had spread.

Nuwan Thushara took 2-18 from four overs and Wanuja Sahan 2-17 from four, the pair sharing the new ball and the early damage between them.

Ratnayake then came on to claim two more, completing an all-round performance that few players manage in a match of this consequence.

Nasum Ahmed delays the finish

Nasum Ahmed made the innings respectable rather than competitive, top-scoring with 26 from 28 balls from down the order.

Yasir Ali struck 21 from 16 and Parvez Hossain Emon 20 from 26, but no partnership lasted long enough to change the arithmetic of the chase.

Bangladesh were bowled out for 102 with 15 balls of the innings unused, losing by 63 runs.

A medal after a chastening semi-final

The result is a measure of repair for Sri Lanka, who had been dismissed for 45 by India on Thursday in a semi-final that lasted under ten overs of their innings.

Bangladesh leave Japan without a cricket medal, having lost their semi-final to Pakistan by six wickets after being held to 111 for 7.

India and Pakistan meet for the gold medal at the same ground later on Saturday, the first time the two have contested an Asian Games cricket final.

Scorecard: Sri Lanka 165 for 9 (Tharindu Ratnayake 65, Sahan Arachchige 33; Mahedi Hasan 2-19, Saif Hassan 2-28) beat Bangladesh 102 (Nasum Ahmed 26; Wanuja Sahan 2-17, Nuwan Thushara 2-18, Tharindu Ratnayake 2-18) by 63 runs

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