Two teams who endured disappointing outings in the just-wrapped 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup get back into action in the first of three one day international matches in Sri Lanka, as the hosts take on the Bangladesh Tigers. Both teams will field squads with only a few changes from the World Cup sides that each managed just three wins before bowing out at the World Cup group stage, according to CricInfo .
The two regional rivals never faced each other in this year’s World Cup, as their scheduled showdown was washed out. In fact, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have not met in an ODI since the Asia Cup on September 15, 2018, when the Tigers prevailed by 137 runs in Dubai. Sri Lanka gets a chance to even the score in the match that will live stream from Colombo.
To find out how to watch a live stream of the Sri Lanka vs. Bangladesh first ODI match, see the streaming information at the bottom of this article. First ball is scheduled to be bowled at 2:30 p.m. India Standard Time on Friday, June 26, at the 40,000-capacity R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, in Maligawatta, Colombo, Sri Lanka. That start time will be the same for viewers inside India.
The match will get started at 3 p.m. Bangladesh Standard Time. In the United States, cricket fans will need to set their alarm clocks to catch the ODI match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, with a start time of 5 a.m. ET on Friday, 2 a.m. PT.
Bangladesh is in seventh place on the ICC world table, per ICC-Cricket , and can expand their lead over eighth-place Sri Lanka with a win in the series. But in reality, the first match is all about Sri Lanka bowling legend Lasith Malinga. The curly-haired fast bowler will play his final 50-overs match on Friday after an illustrious 15-year career that saw the now 35-year-old compete in four World Cup tournaments, taking at least 12 wickets in each.
With 335 ODI wickets, Malinga is the third most prolific wicket-taker in Sri Lanka ODI history, and 10th in the world. His total of 56 World Cup wickets is surpassed only by Australia’s Glenn McGrath with 78, and Malinga’s countryman, Muttiah Muralitharan, with 68, according to ESPN .
On the Bangladesh side, the question that needs answering will be how well opener Tamim Iqbal performs in his debut as captain, according to The Dhaka Tribune . Tamin takes over the Tigers’ ODI squad after a post-World Cup injury to iconic captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza. Shakib Al Hasan, who normally takes over in Mortaza’s absence, is resting throughout the Sri Lanka ODI series.
Watch a preview of the Sri Lanka vs. Bangladesh match, focusing in the career of the great fast bowler Malinga, in the video below, courtesy of CricBuzz.
Here are the expected teams for the Sri Lanka vs. Bangladesh ODI, as both teams return to bilateral play following the 2019 Cricket World Cup, according to ESPN .
Bangladesh: 1. Tamim Iqbal (captain), 2. Soumya Sarkar, 3. Mohammad Mithun, 4. Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), 5. Mahmudullah, 6. Sabbir Rahman, 7. Mossadek Hossain 8. Mehidy Hasan, 9. Taskin Ahmed, 10. Mustafizur Rahman, 11. Rubel Hossain.
Sri Lanka: 1. Dimuth Karunaratne (captain), 2. Kusal Perera (wicketkeeper), 3. Avishka Fernando, 4. Kusal Mendis, 5. Angelo Mathews, 6. Dhananjaya De Silva, 7. Thisara Perera, 8. Isuru Udana, 9. Nuwan Pradeep, 10. Akila Dhananjaya, 11. Lasith Malinga.
To watch a live stream of the first ODI in Sri Lanka, Gazi TV has the game. For fans inside both Sri Lanka and India, Sony Six has the live streaming rights to the Sri Lanka-Bangadesh ODI series.
In the United States, the best option is to sign up for a one-week free trial of the Sling TV international sports package. The package includes Willow TV, which will carry live streaming video of the Sri Lanka vs. Bangladesh ODI.