NEW DELHI: Bangladesh secured a comfortable six-wicket victory, thanks to an unbeaten century from skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto in the first one-day international (ODI) of a three-match series against Sri Lanka in Chittagong.
Najmul’s impressive knock of 122 not out off 129 balls, supported by Mushfiqur Rahim‘s unbeaten 73, propelled Bangladesh to a total of 257-4 in 44.4 overs after bowling out Sri Lanka for 255 runs.
Facing early challenges with the bat, Bangladesh found themselves struggling at 23-3 after Dilshan Madushanka and Pramod Madushan took early wickets.
However, Najmul’s partnership with Mahmudullah Riyad (37) steadied the innings before Mushfiqur joined him for a game-changing fifth-wicket stand of 165 runs.
Earlier, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, and Shoriful Islam claimed three wickets each to restrict Sri Lanka’s batsmen.
Despite a strong start from openers Pathum Nissanka and Avishka Fernando, Sri Lanka faltered in the middle overs.

Janith Liyanage’s 67 and Kusal Mendis‘ 59 were notable contributions, but Taskin’s bowling performance limited Sri Lanka to 255 runs.
In their chase, Bangladesh overcame early setbacks and successfully reached the target with Najmul and Mushfiqur’s impressive partnership.
The victory marks Bangladesh’s strong start to the series after Sri Lanka secured a 2-1 win in the preceding T20 series.
The two teams will meet again for the second match of the ODI series on Friday, followed by the final match on Monday.
(With AFP inputs)