Tigers look to history but wary of creaky middle-order

Bangladesh go into the third and final ODI at Pallekele against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, hoping to clinch a first-ever ODI series win against Sri Lanka in the island nation.

Bangladesh twice drew series against Sri Lanka on their home turf but have not scaled the heights of a series win against the South Asian rivals yet.

Batting concerns remain, especially in the middle-order following the retirements of Mahmudullah Riyad and Mushfiqur Rahim. Despite win in the second ODI, Bangladesh did not bat out 50 overs while in the first ODI, a record-breaking collapse ensured that Tigers had to look for a quick turnaround in the first place.

Bangladesh's ODI form has been concerning for a while. Since their last ODI series win, incidentally against Sri Lanka at home in March last year, Bangladesh have fallen to series defeats against Afghanistan and West Indies while also exiting the Champions Trophy without a single win.

They have, however, been able to regain some confidence in the second ODI in Colombo. The win was their first after seven consecutive defeats and having clawed their way back in, the Tigers will look to repeat a feat from 2015.

Only once in their history have Bangladesh managed to win a three-match ODI series after losing the first ODI, when a confident Soumya Sarkar took South Africa apart at home in 2015.

In comparison with Colombo, things are expected to be a bit different in Pallakele where Sri Lanka, South Africa and Afghanistan have been involved in high-scoring affairs last year. But there have also been some low-scoring affairs, something that should keep the batters guessing.

Bangladesh have Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Hossain, openers with a bit of flair about them. The duo has scored runs this series but has not been able to carry on for bigger scores.

It is, however, the middle-order that Sri Lanka would like to put pressure on. Tawhid Hridoy got some runs in the last game but skipper Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shamim Hossain or Jaker Ali did not make big contributions. It took some effort from Tanzim Sakib to take Bangladesh to a competitive total in the end.

The bowling department is where the Tigers have found solace this series. Taskin Ahmed is expected to return after being rested for the second ODI. The pacer bagged four wickets to set Bangladesh up for a chaseable total and would be keen to play a hand to clinch the series.

Spinner Tanvir Islam's fifer set up the victory in the second game, turning things around at a crucial period and managing to break important partnerships. If spin comes to play, Shamim, too, is an option, having bowled nine economical overs in the first ODI.