With the fifth match of the Asia Cup 2025, all eight teams have commenced their tournament campaigns. In Group B, Sri Lanka played its first match, securing a straightforward victory and opening its account. Against Bangladesh, the former champion Sri Lanka won the match with 6 wickets, earning 2 points from the first match, making their group’s situation exciting. Despite this victory, they did not yet manage to secure the top position in their group.
The match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh took place at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, September 13. Bangladesh had already played a match in the tournament, easily defeating Hong Kong, the weakest team in their group. However, their real challenge was in this match, where they couldn’t succeed. Sri Lanka, with the lethal fast bowling of Nuwan Thushara and Dushmantha Chameera, restricted Bangladesh to just 139 runs. Following this, Sri Lanka achieved the target in 15 overs, with the help of opening batsman Pathum Nissanka’s blistering half-century.
This victory gave Sri Lanka 2 points in their first match, and 3 out of 4 teams in Group B have now opened their accounts. Before this, Afghanistan and Bangladesh had also won 1-1 matches. But, with this victory, Sri Lanka surpassed Bangladesh in the points table. However, they couldn’t move ahead of Afghanistan. The reason for this is the net run rate (NRR) of all three teams, due to which there is a difference in position despite having 2-2 points. Afghanistan (4.700) is at the top due to a better NRR, while Sri Lanka (2.595) could only reach second place. Meanwhile, due to the loss, Bangladesh (-0.650) slipped to third place.
The next match of this group will be played on Monday, September 15, in which the Sri Lankan team will be on the field, facing Hong Kong. Sri Lanka will have the opportunity to make a huge jump in NRR with the acquisition of 2 points. That day, there might be a big change in the Group B table. Now, if Hong Kong surprises everyone and pulls off an upset, the story could be different, but in normal circumstances, Sri Lanka will be in a position to secure the first place.