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Watch Bangladesh Vs. Sri Lanka Asia Cup Cricket Live Stream: Tigers Must Win To Keep Championship Hope Alive

By Jonathan Vankin
Published on: 19:21 PST, Feb 27, 2016

Bangladesh faces a must-win Asia Cup T20 cricket match against Sri Lanka on Sunday, and fans can watch a live stream as the Tigers take on their island neighbors, with both teams coming off of victories against the tournament’s lone qualifying team, United Arab Emirates.

But where Sri Lanka engineered a 14-run narrow escape against upstart UAE, keyed by some clutch bowling from skipper Lasith Malinga, Bangladesh smashed the upstarts from across the Gulf by a comprehensive 51 runs inside of 18 overs.

Against Sri Lanka, a team with an often intimidating seam bowling attack led by Malinga, Bangladesh bats will need to do better than the 133 they posted against UAE and the 121 they managed in a losing effort against India in the Asia Cup opener.

“We are not too worried about (Malinga),” said confident Bangladesh batsman Sabbir Rahman at a press conference on Saturday. “It is important for us to play a ball at a time, not checking who the bowler is. Our confidence took a hit after the defeat in the first match. But the win against UAE worked. We won by a good margin which boosted our confidence. Hopefully, the boost will be useful in the next match.”

Watch highlights of the Bangladesh victory over UAE in the video below.

Watch a live stream of the Bangladesh vs. Sri Lanka Asia Cup T20 cricket match in the following video — or continue reading for further streaming information.

A win for Bangladesh puts the Tigers at 2-1 in the 2016 Asia Cup, and in second place with control of their own success or failure. All they would need to do is defeat Pakistan in their final group stage match on Wednesday to clinch second place — and with it, a trip to the tournament final where in all likelihood they would face a rematch against India for the trophy.

But a loss to Sri Lanka means that not only would Bangladesh absolutely need to beat Pakistan, they would also need both India and Pakistan to beat Sri Lanka, and UAE would need to pull off an improbably upset of Pakistan in order to guarantee Bangladesh a spot in the final — which pits the Asia Cup group stage first and second place finishers against each other on March 6.

The Bangladesh vs. Sri Lanka match features one of the most intriguing bowling duels of the tournament. For Sri Lanka, wily and intimidating 32-year-old veteran Malinga will be appearing in his 63rd international T20 match, taking 78 wickets, and has hinted that he may retire from international cricket altogether after the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Bangladesh features perhaps the top young bowler in world cricket in Mustafizur Rahman, who at age 20 has spent less than a year at the international level of cricket. Sunday’s big match will be only his 10th T20 International, and he has taken 12 wickets in his first nine games in the format.

After a shaky opener against India, Mustafizur snapped back against UAE to take a pair of wickets, while allowing just 13 runs in his four overs.

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Three other Bangladesh bowlers took two wickets each in the UAE match, and Tigers Captain Mashrafe Mortaza says the team is careful about not placing too much pressure on their young superstar.

“I see no cause for worries. What happened in the (India) match is reality. Mustafizur won’t do well in every match he plays. Such high expectations are abnormal, there will be highs and lows,” Mashrafe said. “The match gave us a glimpse of his mental strength. Cutters or not, his attitude is always positive. He always wants to give his best for the team. That’s what matters.”

A live stream of the 2016 Asia Cup T20 third match, Bangladesh vs. United Arab Emirates, will be provided in India by Star Sports at this link, as well as via CricHD at this link. The most reliable way to receive the live stream in the United States, however, is via YuppTV who has purchased exclusive rights to all 11 2016 Asia Cup matches. YuppTV will charge a US$9.99 subscription fee to live stream the entire Asia Cup cricket tournament, and can be accessed at this link.

[Featured Photo By A.M. Ahad/Associated Press]

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