Shawdesh Desk:

Sri Lanka thrashed an out-of-sort Bangladesh team by seven wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series in Colombo on Sunday.

Opener Avishka Fernando made a quick-fire 82 off 75 balls, helping the hosts  reach 242-7 in 44.4 overs-after Bangladesh were restricted to 238-8, despite wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim making an unbeaten 98 runs.

Fernando and skipper Dimuth Karunaratne set the  tone for Sri Lanka’s putting 71 runs in the opening stand before the Tigers had their first success through off-spinner Mehedi Hasan.

Mehedi removed Karunaratne, who was happy to watch his aggressive partner Fernando from the other end before being bowled for 15.

Fernando was unaffected by the dismissal of his skipper and added a further 58 for the second wicket with and Kusal Perera to put the hosts in control.

Mustafizur Rahman dismissed Fernando and Perera, who made 30 off 34 balls, in quick succession to Bangladesh a sniff but Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews denied Bangladesh further success.

Mathews struck occasional leg-spinner Sabbir Rahman for a boundary to take Sri Lanka to winning shore and at the same time complete his fifty to stay unbeaten on 52.

Mendis gave him perfect company with 41 not out as Sri Lanka, who won Friday’s opening match by 91 runs, sealed the series with a game in hand.

Bangladesh had Mushfiq to thank for providing them something to fight with after their top-order crumbled for the second time in the series.

Mushfiq hit six fours and one six in his 110-ball innings to lift Bangladesh from an abysmal after yet another top-order collapse.

Apart from Mehedi Hasan,  who made 43 off 49 balls, no other batsman could give Mushfiq adequate support as they added  Bangladesh’s record 84-run seventh wicket stand against Sri Lanka.

The pair came together after Bangladesh found them precariously 117-6 in the 32nd over.

Bangladesh’s problem started from the onset once Nuwan Pradeep trapped Soumya Sarkar leg-before for 11 in the sixth over.

Skipper Tamim Iqbal (19) continued his dismal batting performance in the series and was played on off Isuru Udana two overs later.

Mohammad Mithun and Mahmudullah followed the opening pair as both were dismissed after making 12 and six runs respectively to Akila Dananjaya.

Sabbir  was next to depart as he was run-out for 11 runs while Mosaddek fell to Udana after making 13 runs.

Mushfiq and Mehedi fought back to bring Bangladesh’s innings back on track, slowly surpassing Roqibul Hasan and Nayeem Islam’s 53 runs in Dhaka in 2009 to set up a new record for Bangladesh against Sri Lanka .

Mushfiq struck Udana for two fours and a six in consecutive three deliveries in the penultimate over to raise his hopes of completing his eighth ODI hundred but went off the strike in the fifth ball of the final over that denied him the feat.