BAN vs SL, 2nd Test, Day 1, Review: Sri Lanka sneak ahead after a 14-wicket day in Dhaka

The second and final Test match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka got underway at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Thursday. The pitch was expected to turn square after the run-fest in Chittagong ended in a draw. ICC also rated the wicket ‘below average’ after which the turning square was bound to be on offer. A total of 14 wickets fell on the opening day of the Test and the visitors sneaked ahead by picking four wickets of Bangladesh after posting 222 runs batting first.

Bangladesh came out to bat in the final session of the day only to find themselves in trouble after 22 overs of play. The swashbuckling opener Tamim Iqbal was sent back to the hut by Suranga Lakmal in the very first over by plucking out a superb return catch. He also castled Mushfiqur Rahim a few overs later who left the incoming delivery only to see his furniture disturbed. Meanwhile, the twin centurion Mominul Haque threw his wicket away carelessly and was run-out for not grounding his bat.

Imrul Kayes and Liton Das added 33 runs thereafter but the former was pinned in front by Dilruwan Perera in the dying stages of the day which reduced them to 56/4 at stumps. The hosts are still 166 runs behind Sri Lanka’s first innings total and would need a herculean effort on a spitting surface to even get close.

Mendis and Roshen propel Sri Lanka

Earlier in the morning, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first on a pitch which was looking like a square turner. There was no surprise that the spinners opened the bowling from both the ends and also reaped instant rewards as Dimuth Karunaratne was stumped in the sixth over off the comeback man Abdur Razzaq. It was all about luck at the start but the likes of Kusal Mendis and Roshen Silva showed that there are runs to plunder if proper application is shown on the wicket.

But apart from both of them who scored 68 and 56 respectively, no other batsmen looked comfortable during their stay in the middle. Razzaq was exceptional in his first match after four years and bowled beautifully to return with the figures of 4/63. He picked key wickets of Mendis and bowled a snorter to send back the skipper Dinesh Chandimal. Soon after lunch, Sri Lanka were reduced from 96/2 to 110/6.

But Roshen and Dilruwan 52 runs for the seventh after which the debutant Akila Dananjaya also batted decently to frustrate the home side. Eventually, they were bowled out for 222 runs in the 66th over with Taijul Islam ending the proceedings who also ended with a four-wicket haul conceding 83 runs. Mustafizur Rahman was the other wicket-taker who scalped a couple.

Looking at the state of the pitch, it is going to be near impossible to score runs in the second innings and the teams need to bat as much as they can in the first innings. Sri Lanka are ahead currently but a partnership could turn things around for Bangladesh.

Brief Scores

Sri Lanka 222 (K Mendis 68, R Silva 56; A Razzaq 4/63, T Islam 4/83)

Bangladesh 56/4 (L Das 24*; S Lakmal 2/15)

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