The ground, however, was fit like a number of other venues in the city but what made Bangladesh happy was the win although they had to fight hard against the fifth-ranked Sri Lankan team at the Police Sports Club ground yesterday.

"I want to focus on the win and I must say it's a good one. We needed this victory ahead of the one-day series. It would definitely help us in the three matches," said an excited Ashraful, who won his first match as Bangladesh captain.

The 23-year-old skipper was also not ready to undermine his opponents. "There might not be big names but still they were a very good team. Most of the guys are inexperienced but definitely they have the potential and that's why they were included in the side," he explained.

He also mentioned that the islanders have enough quality cricketers and that is the reason that they are now a big force in world cricket.

Ashraful also defended his bowlers by saying that Sri Lankan batsmen batted sensibly to score a decent total.

"I don't think our bowling performance was too bad but I would say that they batted sensibly. Our batting in the beginning was also not good but I am happy that some of the guys who have just joined the team, performed well. Aftab played brilliantly besides Tamim and Forhad, so it's a good practice match for us," he said with satisfaction in his tone.

Selector Akram Khan also expressed his satisfaction over the outcome.

"We are happy with the boys' performance in the match. The most important thing is that we won the match. I must say that the boys got back their confidence by winning. Now we are very much hopeful with the one-day series," said the former national skipper.