Highlights
- Sri Lanka was defeated by Bangladesh in Asia Cup 2016 and 2018
- Bangladesh ended up playing the finals of Asia Cup 2016 and 2018
- Sri Lanka will face Bangladesh on September 1, 2022
Asia Cup 2022: Not very often, in the game of cricket do we get to see, the euphoric anticipation that surrounds a tournament and generates a certain kind of excitement. This has been the case for Asia Cup 2022. The marquee tournament begins on August 27, 2022, in the United Arab Emirates. The Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) is the host of this year's Asia Cup, but due to the economic crisis in the island nation, the tournament has been shifted to the UAE. The first match of the tournament will be played between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan which will be followed by India locking horns with Pakistan on August 28, 2022. The entire focus of the tournament is on the India-Pakistan clash, but apart from it, two more teams have been arch-rivals for quite some time and fans wait in anticipation just to see them have a crack at each other.
The rivalry between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
With India and Pakistan having a crack at each other on August 28, 2022, fans of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are restlessly waiting for September 1, 2022. Not many seem to be very aware of it, but for the past few years, both these teams have had amazing contests and have entertained the cricketing world with their aggression and display of temper. As far as the last two Asia Cup events are concerned, the 2016 and 2018 editions, the Sri Lankan team has failed to get the better of Bangladesh. Bangladesh on the other hand ended up playing in two Asia Cup finals in the year 2016 and 2018. In the year 2016, Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka by a margin of 23 runs. Things got worst for Sri Lanka in the 2018 edition as Bangladesh inflicted a loss of 128 runs on them. Taking the level of rivalry a notch higher, when both these teams met for the Nidahas Trophy in 2018, tempers flared all around on and off the field. Nidahas Trophy was a triangular series that was contested by India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
With Mushfiqur Rahim embarrassing the Sri Lankan players with his iconic "Nagin Dance", the Sri Lankan fans took the insult personally and all of them turned up for the finals where India was taking on Bangladesh. After India clinched the Nidahas trophy, stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma thanked the Sri Lankan crowd for their continuous love and support.
Breaking the Bangladesh jinx
The winners of the 1996 World Cup finals and the finalists of the 2011 and 2015 World Cup, the Sri Lankan team has a rich cricketing history but as of now, it seems like they are caught in turmoil and seeking redemption. Under the leadership of Dasun Shanaka, the Sri Lankan team seems to be going from strength to strength, and now they will look to defeat Bangladesh in the upcoming tournament which will be a huge boost for them.
