Taskin makes grand return but Tigers falter

Bangladesh's most experienced pacer Taskin Ahmed made a grand return to competitive cricket today, finishing with figures of 4-47, but it was all for naught as Bangladesh suffered a 77-run defeat against Sri Lanka in the first ODI of the three-match series at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Chasing 245, Bangladesh went from 100-1 to 105-8 in a horrendous collapse orchestrated by spinner Wanindu Hasarana (4-10) and Kamindu Mendis (3-19) and in the end were bundled out for 167 in 35.5 overs.

But before the disappointing batting, Bangladesh had done well in the bowling department with the leader of the attack Taskin making an impressive come back.

Taskin was out of competitive cricket from March due to an injury in his Achilles tendon. He returned to the side for the Sri Lanka ODIs after a long rehab which began following consultations from different medical experts in England in April.

The 30-year-old had to fight against time to satisfy both the BCB's medical team and the selectors to get picked in the ODI side.

Bangladesh badly missed the service of Taskin, a three-format player for the Tigers, in all of their recent assignments – a home Test series against Zimbabwe, T20I series in the UAE and Pakistan and Test series in Sri Lanka.

Taskin could do nothing but watch from the sidelines as the Tigers suffered defeats to teams like Zimbabwe and UAE, as at that time, he was undergoing a comprehensive rehabilitation programme which was formulated and implemented under BCB's supervision.

The seasoned campaigner made his presence felt immediately in his return when he opened the bowling for Bangladesh today. With a fantastic opening spell, he gave much-needed momentum to the side, who had lost their last six matches in this format and are currently reeling at number 10 in the ICC rankings.

In his first spell, Taskin, in his usual manner, hit the deck hard and extracted movement from the pitch and didn't need to wait too long for success as he got rid of Nishan Madushka (six) and Kamindu Mendis (0). He bowled 24 dot balls in the five-over spell, which included two maidens, and only went for only 14 runs.

In the next spell, Taskin was a bit costly as he leaked 26 runs in three overs but when he returned for his final two overs during the slog overs against centurion Charith Asalanka and dangerous-looking Wanindu Hasaranga, the pacer showcased his mettle once again.

Taskin made great use of the slower delivery, deceiving the set Hasaranga (22) and tail-ender Maheesh Theekshana (one) to remove both in the 46th over, which went for just two runs, and put the brakes in Sri Lanka's innings.

He then gave away just five runs in the penultimate over, playing a vital role in ensuring Sri Lanka did not go past the 250-run mark in a challenging track in Colombo. But his efforts were undone by the batters as the Tigers suffered their seventh straight defeat in ODIs.