Published on 12:00 AM, April 05, 2017

PERFORMER OF THE DAY: KUSAL PERERA

On his first appearance for the national side since December 2016, opener Kusal Perera scored nearly half of Sri Lanka's runs as they chased down Bangladesh' total of 155 with consummate professionalism yesterday. Perera played patiently for the first eight balls and finally hit Shakib Al Hasan for a six, before unleashing five fours off the next seven balls he faced. He reached his half-century off just 31 balls and, together with Upul Tharanga, the left-hander shared a 65-run stand off the first seven overs, calming any nerves at the R Premadasa Stadium. Perera had a reprieve in the 16th over, and added 13 more runs before finally falling in the penultimate over, at which point Sri Lanka needed just nine more runs to win.