The rivalry between the Sri Lanka and Bangladesh cricket teams is an interesting and heated one. Both teams even play every game with intense passion, zeal, and grit, along with some intense, heated moments on and off the field. The Sri Lanka team has dominated the Bangladesh team across the three formats. The Sri Lanka National Cricket Team vs Bangladesh National Cricket Team Timeline testifies to the same fact. The timeline provides a detailed analysis of the encounters between the teams and dominance of one team over the other across all the formats – Test, ODIs, and T20Is.
Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh 1985 to 2006: The Era of Sri Lankan Dominance
Between 1985 to 2006, the Sri Lanka Cricket team and the Bangladesh Cricket team played 25 matches. Out of which, the Sri Lankan team has dominated by registering 24 matches to their name, whereas the Bangladesh team has only been able to win 1 match. Sri Lanka National Cricket Team vs Bangladesh National Cricket Team Timeline provides insight into the encounters between the teams across the Test and ODI formats.
- 1985-1986 John Player Gold Leaf Trophy (ODI): The 3rd match of the trophy was conducted at the Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy, on 2nd April 1986. Batting first, the Bangladesh team set a total of 131 runs, with a major contribution from Minhajul Abedin(40 runs). Kaushik Amalean, Ravi Ratnayeke, and Arjuna Ranatunga each bagged 2 wickets to their name. The Lankan Lions easily chased the target in 31.3 overs with key contributions from Asanka Gurusinha(44 runs*) and Arjuna Ranatunga(41 runs*).
- 1988-1989 Wills Asia Cup (ODI): The Sri Lankan team won the 6th match of the cup played at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka (Dacca), on 2nd November 1988. Brendon Kuruppu was named the Player of the Match for his knock of 58* runs.
- 1990-1991 Asia Cup (ODI): Athar Ali Khan’s knock of 78 runs* was the reason he was named Player of the Match for the 3rd match of the cup, hosted by Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on 31st December 1990. Batting first, the Sri Lankan team set a total of 249 runs with key contributions from Aravinda de Silva(89 runs) and Arjuna Ranatunga(64 runs*). But the Bangladesh team was constricted to a total of 178 runs, leading Sri Lankan team to a victory by 71 runs.
- 1994-1995 Pepsi Asia Cup (ODI): The 2nd match of the cup was hosted at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, on 6th April 1995. The Lankan Lions won the match by a huge margin of 107 runs. Batting first, the Sri Lankan team set a total of 233 runs. The Bangladesh team was restricted to only 126 runs with major wickets from Muttiah Muralitharan(4 wickets).
- 1997-1998 Pepsi Asia Cup (ODI): In the 6th match of the cup, Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bowl first. Batting first, a brilliant knock of 108 runs by Sanath Jayasuriya guided the Sri Lankan team to a total of 296 runs. In reply, the Sri Lankan bowling attack constricted the Bangla Tigers to only 193 runs, with the major wicket-taker being Muttiah Muralitharan(2 wickets).
- 1999-2000 Asia Cup (ODI): The inaugural match of the 1999-2000 Asia Cup was played between the Sri Lanka and Bangladesh Cricket teams at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka (Dacca), on 29th May, 2000. The Sri Lankan team clinched the victory over the Bangla Tigers by 9 wickets. Aravinda de Silva was named the Player of the Match for his unbeaten knock of 96 runs.
- 2001-2002 Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh (2nd Test): Batting first, the Bangladesh team scored 90 & 328 runs in the first and second innings, respectively. Whereas, the Sri Lankans set a huge total of 555 runs with key contributions from Marvan Atapattu(201 runs), Mahila Jayawardane(150 runs), and Sanath Jayasuriya(89 runs).
The Lankan Lions won the match by an innings and 137 runs.
- 2002-2003 ICC World Cup (ODI): The 10th match of the ICC World Cup was played at City Oval, Pietermaritzburg, on 14th February 2003. Chaminda Vaas’s brilliant bowling spell of 6 wickets constricted the Bangla Tigers to 124 runs. The mere target of 124 runs was chased by the Lankan Lions in 21.1 overs, with the help of knocks by Marvan Atapattu(69 runs*) and Sanath Jayasuriya(55 runs*).
- 2004-2005 Asia Cup (ODI): The 50-over, Day-night match was played at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, on 23rd July 2004. Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first, setting a target of 190 runs with the loss of 9 wickets. The Sri Lankan batter Sanath Jayasuriya’s knock of 107 runs* led the Lankan Lions to the successful run chase.
- 2005-2006 Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (Test): The Sri Lankan team whitewashed the 2-match series by 2-0, hosted by Bangladesh. The Lankan team won the matches by 8 and 10 wickets, respectively. Major performers for the Sri Lankan team were Kumar Sangakara, Thilan Samaraweera, Farvez Maharoof, Muttiah Muralitharan, Michael Vandort, Upal Tharanga, and Lasith Malinga.
- 2006-2007 ICC Champions Qualifying (ODI): The 1st match of the Qualifying match of the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy was played between the Sri Lanka and Bangladesh teams at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh, on 7th October, 2006. Upul Tharanga’s knock of 105 runs was the highlight of the match as the Sri Lankan team clinched the victory by 37 runs.
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Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh 2007 to 2019: Sustained Dominance of Sri Lanka
From the time of 2007-2019, the Sri Lanka and Bangladesh teams have played a total of 54 matches, in which the Lankan Lions have dominated by bagging 38 victories to their names, whereas the Bangla Tigers were able to win 11 matches, 3 matches ended in a draw, and 2 gave no results. Sri Lanka National Cricket Team vs Bangladesh National Cricket Team Timeline provides a detailed analysis of the encounters between both teams.
- 2006-2007 ICC World Cup (ODI): Sri Lanka won the 16th match of the 2007 ICC World Cup by a humongous margin of 198 runs. The match was played at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, on 21st March 2007. Sanath Jayasuriya was named Player of the Match for his incredible knock of 109 runs in 87 balls. Whereas, Lasith Malinga took 3 wickets and helped to thrash the Bangladesh batting lineup.
- 2007-2008 ICC World Twenty20: The 19th match of the cup took place at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, on 18th September 2007. Batting first, the Sri Lankan team set a total of 147 runs in 20 overs. In reply, the Bangladesh batting lineup was destroyed by Sri Lanka’s bowling unit, as they were only able to make 83 runs. Wicket-takers of the Lankan Lions were Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, and Sanath Jayasuriya with 2 wickets each to their names.
- 2007-2008 Asia Cup (ODI): The 9th match of the cup was played at the National Stadium, Karachi, on 30th June, 2008. The Lankan Lions won the match by 158 runs, with key contributions from Sanath Jayasuriya(130 runs), Kumar Sangakkara(121 runs), and Muttiah Muralitharan(5 wickets). Sanath Jayasuriya was given the Player of the Match award.
- 2009-2010 Asia Cup (ODI): Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla, was the venue for the clash between the Bangla Tigers and the Lankan Lions, on 18th June, 2010. Batting first, the Lankan team set a target of 312 runs with major contributions from Upul Tharanga(54 runs), Tillakaratne Dilshan(71 runs), Kumar Sangakkara(52 runs), Mahela Jayawardene(43 runs), and Angelo Mathews(42 runs). In reply, the Bangla Tigers were restricted to a total of only 186 runs.
- 2011-2012 Asia Cup (ODI): The 6th match of the 2011-2012 Asia Cup was interrupted by rain during the 2nd innings of the game. Batting first, the Sri Lankan team set a total of 232 runs. Due to rain, the target was revised to 212 runs in 40 overs, which resulted in the victory of the Bangladesh team by 5 wickets.
- 2013-2014 Asia Cup (ODI): The 10th match of the cup was hosted at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka, on 6th March 2014. The Lankan Lions won the match by 3 wickets. Angelo Mathews was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten knock of 74 runs.
- 2014-2015 ICC World Cup (ODI): Sri Lankan team won the toss and elected to bat first, setting a total of 332 runs with key contributions from Lahiru Thirimanne(52 runs), Tillakaratne Dilshan(161 runs*), and Kumar Sangakkara(105 runs). In reply, the Bangladesh team was constricted to a total of 240 runs, with major wicket-takers being Lasith Malinga(3 wickets), Suranga Lakmal(2 wickets), and Tillakaratne Dilshan(2 wickets).
- 2015-2016 Asia Cup (T20): The 5th match of the tournament was played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka, on 28th February 2016. Bangladesh won the match by 23 runs, with contributions from Sabbir Rahman(80 runs) and Shakib Al Hasan(32 runs) from the batting unit, and Al-Amin Hossain (3 wickets) and Shakib Al Hasan(2 wickets) from the bowling unit.
- 2017-2018 Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (2nd Test): Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first. In the first and second innings, they scored a total of 222 and 226 runs, respectively. On the other hand, the Bangla Tigers fell to totals of 110 and 123 runs.
- 2017-2018 Nidahas Twenty20 Tri Series: The Bangladesh and Sri Lankan teams clashed in the tri-series on two occasions in the 3rd and 6th matches. The Bangla Tigers clinched victories in both games by 5 and 2 wickets, respectively. Key performers for the Bangladesh team were Mustafizur Rahman, Mahmudullah, Tamim Iqbal, and Mushfiqur Rahim.
- 2018-2019 Asia Cup (ODI): The inaugural match of the 2018 Asia Cup was hosted at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on 15th September 2018. Batting first, the Bangladesh team set a target of 261 runs with contributions from Mushfiqur Rahim(144 runs) and Mohammad Mithun(63 runs). In the run chase, the Sri Lankan batting lineup was restricted to a mere total of 124 runs.
Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh 2020 to 2025: Recent Faceoffs
In the recent matches played between the Bangladesh and Sri Lanka cricket teams, the latter has continued to maintain its dominance by winning 12 out of 22 matches. The Bangla Tigers have improved their performance, but still have managed to win 7 matches; meanwhile, 3 matches ended up being drawn. Sri Lanka National Cricket Team vs Bangladesh National Cricket Team Timeline provides a detailed analysis of faceoffs between the teams across the three formats – Test, ODI, and T20Is, during this time.
- 2021 ICC T20 World Cup: The 15th match of the event was played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, on 24th October, 2021. Batting first, the Bangladesh team set a total of 171 runs with major contributions from Mohammad Naim(62 runs) and Mushfiqur Rahim(57 runs*). In the run chase, outstanding knocks by Charith Asalanka(80 runs*) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa(53 runs) guided their team towards a victory over the Bagla Tigers by 5 wickets.
- 2022-2023 Asia Cup (T20I): Kusal Mendis was given the Player of the Match award for his knock of 60 runs in the 5th match of the 2022 Asia Cup, hosted at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, on 1st September, 2022.
- 2023 Asia Cup (ODI): The Sri Lanka and Bangladesh teams encountered each other on two occasions- in the 2nd and 8th matches of this cup event. The Sri Lanka team won both matches by 5 wickets and 21 runs, respectively. Key performers for the Lankan Lions were Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Pathum Nissanka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Maheesh Theekshana, Dasun Shanaka, and Matheesha Pathirana.
- 2023 ICC World Cup (ODI): The 38th match of the tournament was played on 6th November 2023, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. Batting first, the Lankan Lions set a total of 279 runs with the aid of a brilliant knock from Charith Asalanka(108 runs). In the run chase, the Bangla Tigers successfully chased the target in 41.1 overs with major contributions from Najmul Hossain Shanto(90 runs) and Shakib Al Hasan(82 runs).
- 2023-2024 Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (Test): The 2-match series was hosted by Bangladesh, and the series was whitewashed by the Lankan Lions by 2-0. The Sri Lankan team won both the test matches with a huge margin of 328 and 192 runs, respectively. Key performers were Dhananjay de Silva, Kamindu Mendis, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, and Asitha Fernando.
- 2024 ICC T20 World Cup: This game was played at the Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas, on 7th June, 2024. Rishad Hossain was given the Player of the Match award for his bowling spell of 4 overs, 22 runs, and 3 wickets. Mustafizur Raham’s bowling spell of 4 overs, 17 runs, and 3 wickets was also commendable and crucial for the victory of the Bangladesh team.
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