“National pride is at stake boys” - Sanath Jayasuriya reacts to Sri Lanka’s loss to Bangladesh

Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya has urged the national team to fight for national pride following their series loss to Bangladesh. The former opener's words come in the wake of a disappointing display by the Sri Lankans that saw them lose the first two games of the series.

Sanath Jayasuriya took to Twitter to express his disappointment at Sri Lanka's performance in the series so far.

“As a past player and captain it’s very difficult for me to come to terms with the first series loss to Bangladesh. National pride is at stake boys fight to the last,” the tweet read.

Musfiqur Rahim masterclass gives Bangladesh 2-0 win over Sri Lanka

Mushfiqur Rahim’s heroics with the bat in the second ODI helped the team sail to a massive 103-run victory (D/L method). Sri Lanka did have some positives with the ball though, as Chameera and Sandakan took three wickets each.

But the visitors couldn’t do enough damage with the bat, settling for a mediocre 141/9 in the 40 overs allotted to them. In both ODIs, the middle order struggled to make a mark, allowing Bangladesh to dominate proceedings and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

After Sri Lanka lost their first-ever bilateral ODI series to Bangladesh, Kusal Perera lamented the team's lack of experience. Kusal Perera's leadership has gotten off to a shaky start, with Sri Lanka losing both one-day internationals in Bangladesh.

Before the current trip, the left-handed opener was named skipper after Sri Lanka Cricket dropped former captain Dimuth Karunaratne for the three-match series. Senior players Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal were also dropped from the team.

These two victories see Bangladesh leapfrog the likes of England, Pakistan, and Australia to rise to the top of the ICC World Cup Super League table. Bangladesh now take on Sri Lanka in the final ODI in Dhaka on Friday.