Opener Tamim Iqbal scored an impressive knock of 84 runs off 102 balls as Bangladesh outclassed Sri Lanka by 163 runs in the third ODI of the tri-series at Dhaka on Friday. It was the biggest margin victory for the Asian Tigers as they surpassed their previous best, a 160-run ODI win that they registered against West Indies at Khulna in 2012.
"If you look at recent past, this is one of the best wins for us. The way the boys played was really good and we have to keep it going. There is always something to learn if you win or loss," Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza said after winning the match.
Heaping praise on Iqbal, who struck seven boundaries and two sixes in his causative knock, Mortaza said: "Tamim could have got a hundred, the batting was up to the mark though nobody got a hundred."
Besides Iqbal, all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and wicketkeeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim scored a half-ton each to propel Bangladesh to an emphatic total of 320/7 while batting first.
In chase of 321 runs, Sri Lanka failed miserably and hi batting line-up collapsed like a pack of cards for paltry 157 runs.
Shakib led Bangladesh's bowling attack as he claimed three big wickets. Rubel Hossain and Mashrafe Mortaza joined in with two dismissals each, while Nasir Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman dismissed Kusal Perera and Niroshan Dickwella respectively.
For his all-round stellar show, Shakib was later bestowed with the man-of-the-match award.
