Worse than their defeat was that two of their key players were injured during the 30-over-a-side match at the P. Sara ground leaving the team in dire straits, days ahead of their Asia Cup ties.
Wicketkeeper Khaled Masood Pilot was taken to the hospital for surgery after being hit by a rising delivery while Bangladesh were fielding under an overcast condition. The dapper right-handed batsman, one of the heroes in clinching the ICC Trophy, lost two teeth and had two stitches in his badly bruised lips. Athar Ali Khan was the second in an ominous injury list. The tall national all-rounder, who conceded 12 runs in his two prodigal overs, suffered a back injury on a heavy outfield and could not play the rest of the match.
Beleaguered Bangladesh team manager Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu later asked for a replacement of Pilot, a dashing batsman, pointing out his unlikely early recovery. In the match, the Lankan President's XI, the second fiddle of the world champions, batted first and piled up a commanding total of 176 for five in the stipulated 30 overs.
The home side's total was built around a sizzling unbeaten by ? who played in the SAARC tournament held in Bangladesh this year. In reply, Bangladesh could only muster 143 for the loss of two wickets after exhausting their quota of 30 overs.
Bangladesh were off to a slower start in their chase of daunting task of scoring 5.8 runs per over to win the match. After opening the innings, Habibul Bashar Sumon, who hammered an enterprising 53 off 57 balls, and his partner Naimur Rahman Durjoy spent 16 overs to score only 62 runs. Vice-captain Aminul Islam Bulbul remained unbeaten on 45 off 58 balls while Minhazul Abedin Nannu, the former national captain and the most experienced cricketer of the country, was on 13 not out before it was allover for Bangladesh.
Earlier, Hasiful Hossain Shanto and Saiful Islam, the two new-ball bowler gave Bangladesh a positive start, producing some fine fast bowling. Of the two Shanto, the tall right-arm seamer was particularly hostile with the cherry. Shanto finished with an excellent figures of 6-1-19-0. Saiful took one wicket for 20 runs in his four overs. But once the spin attack was introduced, the President's XI went on to speed up the run-rate. Sheikh Salahuddin, the lone specialist off-spinner of the Bangladesh team, concluded 30 runs in just four overs. Besides, slow left-armer Enamul haq Moni, who captured one wicket, gave away 27 runs in his four overs.
Bangladesh will play their next warm-up match against the same selection tomorrow, before appearing in their Asia Cup opener against Pakistan on July 16. The four-nation tournament, which also includes world champion Sri Lanka and India, will kick off on July 14 with the hosts taking on Pakistan in the inaugural tie.