Sri Lanka secured the bronze medal in the Asian Games 2026 cricket competition after a dominant 63-run victory over Bangladesh. Tharindu Ratnayake was the standout performer in a bowler-dominated fixture, contributing a vital 65 runs with the bat and taking two wickets to dismantle the Bangladeshi lineup. In a game dictated by bowlers, Tharindu Ratnayake’s counter-attacking 65 became a big difference as Sri Lanka downed Bangladesh to secure the bronze medal at the Asian Games 2026.
Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka faced an early collapse as the team found themselves at 21/4 within the fourth over, struggling against the bowling of Mahedi Hasan and Aliss Al Islam. Though Ashen Bandara and captain Sahan Arachchige briefly steadied the innings, the side slipped to 54/5 by the 11th over following the dismissal of Bandara by Rishad Hossain. A transformative 93-run partnership between Ratnayake and Arachchige steered the recovery, with Ratnayake hammering 65 off just 35 balls, including seven fours and five sixes. Supported by an aggressive finish where the team added 61 runs in the final five overs, Sri Lanka concluded their innings at 165/9. Sri Lanka were in dire straits at 54 for 5 in the 11th over when Ratnayake and Sahan Arachchige combined forces for a blazing 93-run stand. With the former smashing 65 of it, then came the whirlwind partnership – 93 off 44 – between Ratnayake and Arachchige. The stand flew off the blocks with a 25-run over off Mustafizur Rahman and followed that up by picking 16 off Rishad. Parvez Hossain and Yasir Ali dragged the team past the Powerplay but they couldn’t consolidate in the middle overs.
Bangladesh’s chase suffered a catastrophic start as Saif Hasan, Tanzid Hasan, and Litton Das were all dismissed for ducks, leaving the score at 4/3 in the third over. Ratnayake compounded the pressure by claiming his second wicket of the Powerplay, removing Towhid Hridoy to reduce Bangladesh to 18/4. Despite brief resistance, the batting side crumbled from 50/5 to 72/8 in a span of just 18 deliveries, effectively ending their pursuit of the target. Their total was well beyond Bangladesh’s reach as they too suffered a batting implosion, as it turned out.
The Sri Lankan bowling attack proved clinical, with Ratnayake (2-18), Nuwan Thushara (2-18), Vijayakanth Viyaskanth (2-26), and Wanuja Sahan (2-17) each taking two wickets. Bangladesh were eventually bowled out for 102 in 17.3 overs. In the final match statistics, Sri Lanka reached 165/9 in 20 overs, while Bangladesh managed 102, with Nasum Ahmed top-scoring for them with 26 runs.
