Left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam ripped through Sri Lanka with figures of 5 for 39 to secure Bangladesh a 16-run victory in the second One-Day International in Colombo on 6 July, levelling the three-match series at 1-1. Bangladesh had earlier posted 248 thanks to Parvez Hossain Emon’s 67 and Towhid Hridoy’s 51 before bowling the hosts out for 232. The result set up a decisive third ODI at Pallekele on Tuesday, 8 July. Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first, while Bangladesh brought back pace spearhead Taskin Ahmed after he missed the previous game through fitness concerns. The visitors, captained by all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz, fielded an otherwise unchanged XI that again included match-winner Tanvir. Bangladesh have never clinched a bilateral ODI series on Sri Lankan soil, having twice shared honours in drawn campaigns. A victory in Pallekele would mark their first overseas series triumph against their South Asian rivals and end an inconsistent run of limited-overs results that followed last year’s home success over Sri Lanka.