Bowlers hand Bangladesh 1st session on Day 1, 2nd Test against Sri Lanka at Colombo

Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka were 70 for 4 with Dinesh Chandimal unbeaten on 27. He was the lone batsman at the crease, with a wicket falling on the last delivery before lunch.

The bowlers made it Bangladesh’s session at the time of lunch being taken on Day One of the second Test against Sri Lanka at Colombo. Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka were 70 for 4 with Dinesh Chandimal unbeaten on 27. He was the lone batsman at the crease, with a wicket falling on the last delivery before lunch. For the visitors, off-spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz was the pick of the bowlers with his figures of 2 for 32. However, it was Mustafizur Rahman who earned his side the first success when he removed the opener Dimuth Karunaratne for 7. What followed then was Bangladesh’s domination over the first session. Full Cricket Scorecard: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test at Colombo

In Bangladesh’s historic 100th Test, Sri Lankan skipper Rangana Herath won the toss and opted to bat first on a track which is expected to be good for batting for first 2-3 days. Russell Arnold called it “lot drier than what we’re used to seeing here” pitch, adding “it has generally been a win-toss, bowl-first pitch” at the pitch report. However, he also added that the side batting first can put up a good score and take control, something which Herath must have hoped for. But it looked like the spirited Bangladeshis had different plans for the milestone Test.

The pace duo of Mustafizur and Subashis Roy started the Test with three successive maidens; a first in Bangladesh’s Test history. This was just a hint of what was to follow, as the Bangladesh bowlers kept a lid on the Lankan batting throughout the first session.

After a slow start, Sri Lanka lost Karunaratne first, who was caught by a diving Mehedi at gully after playing a loose shot. Last match’s hero Kusal Mendis then joined Upul Tharanga, but was dismissed soon after, adding just 11 for the second wicket. He was deceived as he played for the turn but the ball, a straighter one, went past his bat. He had come out a long way forward and there was no way he could have returned back to his crease. Mushfiqur Rahim removed the bails and set off for the celebration. Mendis scored 5.

Interestingly, Mendis’ wicket was also the first time in his Test career he’d got out coming down the pitch.

After adding another 11 runs on the board, Sri Lanka lost Tharanga, who departed after giving a regulation catch to Soumya Sarkar in the slip off Mehedi. Tharanga worked hard for his 11 runs, but fell after he had got himself set in the middle.

Chandimal and Gunaratne then played sensibly and almost ensured there was no further loss for the hosts before lunch. But Subashis struck at the stroke of lunch to send back Gunaratne, who surprisingly did not wait for the umpire to raise his finger, for 13. Sri Lanka, thus, reached to 70 for 4 at lunch with Chandimal unbeaten on 27.

Earlier, Sri Lanka had made a solitary change for this Test, bringing in Dhananjaya de Silva for Lahiru Kumara. Bangladesh, on the other hand, made as many as four changes for the milestone Test. While wicketkeeper Liton Das’ omission was a forced change due to injury, Mahmudullah, Taskin Ahmed and Mominul Haque were dropped from the XI. The ones who replaced them were Sabbir Rahman, Imrul Kayes, Taijul Islam and Mosaddek Hossain, who is making his debut.

Brief scores

Sri Lanka 70 for 4 (Dinesh Chandimal 27*, Asela Gunaratne 13, Upul Tharanga 11; Mehedi Hasan Miraz 2 for 32, Mustafizur Rahman 1 for 11, Subashis Roy 1 for 13) vs Bangladesh.

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