Published: Feb 08, 2018, 04:35 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 08, 2018, 04:37 PM (IST)
Bangladesh faltered against Sri Lanka at Mirpur on Thursday. They were rocked by Suranga Lakmal before finishing Day One with 56 for 4. After Bangladesh spinners Abdur Razzak and Taijul Islam bundled Sri Lanka for 222, Lakmal quickly sent back the Bangladesh top order to give the hosts a similar start. At stumps, Bangladesh trail by 166 runs with Liton Das (24) and Mehedi Hasan (5) at the crease.
Making a comeback to international scenes after four years, Razzak remained phenomenal. Bangladesh opened with spinners. Mahmudullah alternated between Razzak and Taijul, and they rewarded their team with an early Sri Lankan collapse. By the end of first session of the day, Razzak had 3 wickets as Sri Lanka were tottering at 105 for 4.
Coming back from lunch, Razzak struck again to remove a set Kusal Mendis and give Sri Lanka further woes. Roshen Silva, who scored his maiden century a match before, anchored the innings amidst frequent fall of wickets. The only stable partnership after the dismissal of Mendis was that between Roshen and Dilruwan Perera, one that added 52. Both Razzak and Taijul finished with 4 wickets apiece.
Bangladesh did no better though, being reduced to 12 for 3. Tamim Iqbal could not read the ball, and Mominul Haque gifted his wicket as a result of a bizarre run out. After removing Tamim, Lakmal struck again to dismiss Mushfiqur Rahim. He became the seventh Sri Lankan to 100 Test wickets. The last wicket of the day was that of Imrul Kayes, who looked to be forming a strong partnership with Liton.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 222 (Kusal Mendis 68, Roshen Silva 56, Dilruwan Perera 31; Abdur Razzak 4 for 63, Taijul Islam 4 for 83, Mustafizur Rahman 2 for 17) lead Bangladesh 56 for 4 (Imrul Kayes 19, Liton Das 24*; Suranga Lakmal 2 for 15, Dilruwan Perera 1 for 25) by 166 runs
