Sri Lanka chased down the 205-run target with an over to spare, thereby maintaining their unbeaten streak in the tournament, after Bangladesh opted to bat in the inconsequential match at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.
Having already made the final alongside Pakistan, Sri Lanka were in big trouble at eight for three in the third over, before being reduced to 75 for five at the midway stage by a spirited Bangladesh attack.
But Mathews (74) did not panic as he struck seven boundaries and one six en route to his 19th ODI half century, finishing the chase by pulling Arafat Sunny for a boundary.
The skipper found a perfect ally in Chaturanga de Silva (44 from 52 balls; 5x4) and the duo stitched 82 brisk runs for the sixth wicket.
With four wins from as many matches, the Lankans finished atop the table with 17 points, while Pakistan finished with 13 points. India (9) and Afghanistan (4) ended at third and fourth places, while hosts Bangladesh finished with the wooden spoon with four defeats. The summit clash will be held here on Saturday.
Earlier, Bangladesh frittered away a solid start by their openers to be restricted to 204/9 after Mushfiqur Rahim opted to bat on an uneven looking slow surface.
Rookie Priyanjan, with his off-spin, grabbed 2/11 from three overs after Mendis gave the breakthrough with two wickets from one over. Bangladesh’s opening duo had put on 74 runs.
Opener Anamul Haque, who scored a century in their record 326 against Pakistan, struck one six and two fours en route to an 86-ball 49. In the next over, Priyanjan took the prized scalp of Shakib-al-Hasan (20), while the pace duo of Suranga Lakmal (2/32) and Thisara Perera (2/29) tightened the noose in the death overs.
In their defence, Bangladesh came out all guns blazing as Al-Amin Hossain dismissed Kusal Perera for a duck in the second ball of Lankan innings, before grabbing the prized scalp of Kumar Sangakkara.
BRIEF SCORES:
Sri Lanka 208 for 7 (Mathews 74*, Al-Amin 2-42) beat Bangladesh 204 for 9 (Anamul 49, Priyanjan 2-11, Thisara 2-29) by three wickets.
‘I felt the pressure while chasing’
MIRPUR: Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews today admitted that he felt the pressure after losing quite a few wickets while chasing a modest 205-run target in an inconsequential match of the Asia Cup against Bangladesh here.
‘I was under a little bit of pressure to be honest. We were losing wickets and had to consolidate. Chaturanga batted beautifully,’ said Mathews, who was also awarded the man-of-the-match.
He also praised his bowling department for restricting Bangladesh to a modest total and said pace spearhead Lasith Malinga’s return to the playing eleven will augur well for the islanders in Saturday’s final against Pakistan. ‘It is a good problem for us (when Malinga comes back).
All the bowlers did well. We wanted to try out a few things today. We wanted to chase and see how we go about it,’ Mathews said. Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim lauded his team’s fighting spirit.
Having already made the final alongside Pakistan, Sri Lanka were in big trouble at eight for three in the third over, before being reduced to 75 for five at the midway stage by a spirited Bangladesh attack.
But Mathews (74) did not panic as he struck seven boundaries and one six en route to his 19th ODI half century, finishing the chase by pulling Arafat Sunny for a boundary.
The skipper found a perfect ally in Chaturanga de Silva (44 from 52 balls; 5x4) and the duo stitched 82 brisk runs for the sixth wicket.
With four wins from as many matches, the Lankans finished atop the table with 17 points, while Pakistan finished with 13 points. India (9) and Afghanistan (4) ended at third and fourth places, while hosts Bangladesh finished with the wooden spoon with four defeats. The summit clash will be held here on Saturday.
Earlier, Bangladesh frittered away a solid start by their openers to be restricted to 204/9 after Mushfiqur Rahim opted to bat on an uneven looking slow surface.
Rookie Priyanjan, with his off-spin, grabbed 2/11 from three overs after Mendis gave the breakthrough with two wickets from one over. Bangladesh’s opening duo had put on 74 runs.
Opener Anamul Haque, who scored a century in their record 326 against Pakistan, struck one six and two fours en route to an 86-ball 49. In the next over, Priyanjan took the prized scalp of Shakib-al-Hasan (20), while the pace duo of Suranga Lakmal (2/32) and Thisara Perera (2/29) tightened the noose in the death overs.
In their defence, Bangladesh came out all guns blazing as Al-Amin Hossain dismissed Kusal Perera for a duck in the second ball of Lankan innings, before grabbing the prized scalp of Kumar Sangakkara.
BRIEF SCORES:
Sri Lanka 208 for 7 (Mathews 74*, Al-Amin 2-42) beat Bangladesh 204 for 9 (Anamul 49, Priyanjan 2-11, Thisara 2-29) by three wickets.
‘I felt the pressure while chasing’
MIRPUR: Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews today admitted that he felt the pressure after losing quite a few wickets while chasing a modest 205-run target in an inconsequential match of the Asia Cup against Bangladesh here.
‘I was under a little bit of pressure to be honest. We were losing wickets and had to consolidate. Chaturanga batted beautifully,’ said Mathews, who was also awarded the man-of-the-match.
He also praised his bowling department for restricting Bangladesh to a modest total and said pace spearhead Lasith Malinga’s return to the playing eleven will augur well for the islanders in Saturday’s final against Pakistan. ‘It is a good problem for us (when Malinga comes back).
All the bowlers did well. We wanted to try out a few things today. We wanted to chase and see how we go about it,’ Mathews said. Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim lauded his team’s fighting spirit.