Three late strikes saw Bangladesh slump to 214/5 in reply to Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 338 on Day 2 of the second Test at Colombo on Thursday.
The visitors, who had restricted Sri Lanka to 238/7 on Day 1, failed to polish off the tail as batting became a much easier task on Thursday. Dinesh Chandimal, resuming on 86, completed his eighth Test ton, and was dismissed for 138. He was given ample support by tail-ender Suranga Lakmal (35), with whom he built a crucial 55-run stand for the ninth wicket.
In reply, Bangladesh got off to a solid start as Tamim Iqbal (49) and Soumya Sarkar (61) built a 95-run opening stand. Sarkar got to his third consecutive score over 50 in the series. There were handy contributions from Imrul Kayes (34) and Sabbir Rahman too (42) as Bangladesh looked set to steal a march over the hosts.
While runs came at a fair clip for both sides - 314 runs were scored during the day’s play - the Bangladeshi innings was derailed in the final hour of the day, that saw them lose three wickets. Lakshan Sandakan (3/65), who took quite a beating in his earlier spell, finished as his side’s best bowler.
Brief scores
- Sri Lanka 338 (Dinesh Chandimal 138, Suranga Lakmal 35; Mustafizur Rahman 2/50, Mehdi Hasan 3/90) lead Bangladesh 214/5 (Soumya Sarkar 61, Tamim Iqbal 49; Lakshan Sandakan 3/65) by 124 runs.