Mehidy Hasan Blames Lack of Partnerships for Bangladesh’s ODI Series Defeat to Sri Lanka

Bangladesh ODI captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz pointed to the lack of meaningful partnerships and failure to bat out the full 50 overs as key reasons behind his side's 99-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the third ODI at Pallekele, which sealed the series 2-1 in the hosts' favour.

Chasing 286 for victory, Bangladesh were bowled out for 186 in 39.4 overs, continuing a worrying trend from the series — they failed to complete their allotted overs in any of the three matches.

Sri Lanka’s innings was built around a crucial 124-run fourth-wicket stand between captain Charith Asalanka and Kusal Mendis, a partnership that Mehidy said made the difference.

“When [Towhid] Hridoy and Jaker [Ali] were batting together, I still believed we could win the game,” Mehidy said in the post-match interview. “But we couldn't build partnerships like Sri Lanka. They had a big one when they were in trouble at 100 for 3. We had a few 40-run stands, but in ODI cricket, that’s not enough to win games.”

Towhid Hridoy once again top-scored for Bangladesh with a composed 51, sharing short partnerships of 42 with Parvez Hossain Emon and 43 with Mehidy himself. But none of Bangladesh’s batters managed to capitalize on their starts, leaving the middle order exposed.

“We are getting out soon after getting set,” Mehidy said. “We lose momentum too quickly. In ODIs, you need momentum and strike rotation — not high-risk shots every few balls. We must learn to play low-risk, smart cricket.”

Bangladesh’s inability to bat through their innings was a recurring problem throughout the series. They were dismissed for 193 in 35.5 overs in the first ODI, and although they managed 48.5 overs in the second, they once again fell short in the decider.

“The fact that we couldn't bat 50 overs in any of the matches is a big concern,” Mehidy admitted. “As a middle-order unit, we need to show more responsibility — myself included. I couldn't face enough balls today. I tried to keep up with the run rate but ended up putting the team under pressure with my dismissal.”

Mehidy, who scored 28 off 25 balls before holing out at long-on during a crucial stage of the chase, acknowledged his mistake but explained his intent. “I was trying to ease the pressure off Hridoy and keep up with the required rate. I took a calculated risk, but I couldn’t execute the shot.”

Despite the defeat and the issues exposed during the series, Mehidy said he continues to back his batters to play their natural game — albeit with more calculated aggression.

“Our top order likes to play attacking cricket. I don’t want to take away their strengths, but we also need emotional control and smarter decision-making. We could have picked up more singles and hit more boundaries with better shot selection.”

He also defended Hridoy’s approach, suggesting the lack of support at the other end prevented him from accelerating. “Hridoy could have batted faster if we hadn’t kept losing wickets. He was left with too much to do.”

Having now lost both the Test and ODI series on the tour, Bangladesh face a tough road ahead. Mehidy acknowledged the shortcomings but remained optimistic: “There’s still a lot of cricket to come. We need to learn from this and improve — especially in building partnerships and playing smarter in the middle overs.”