By Srian Obeyesekere
Sri Lanka was on the brink of victory to a straight win wrap up of the 2-test series with Bangladesh hovering on 268 for 7 wickets chasing 511 and 243 runs behind after Lankan skipper Dhananjaya de Silva declared the second innings on 157 for 5 with overnight batsman Angelo Mathews going on to translate his overnight 39 to a half century 54 (74, 5×4) and Prabath Jayasuriya an unbeaten 28 (67b, 2×4) on the fourth day of the second test match at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdury Stadium, Chattogram on Tuesday.
Once again Bangladesh’s frontline batting was exposed to wilting under pressure as in the previous game against a concentrated Lankan attack with Kamindu Mendis bringing his all-round versatility to play grabbing 2 wickets for 22 followed by pacer Lahiru Kumara 2 for 41 and Prabath Jayasuriya 2 for 79 with Vishwa Fernando chipping in with 1 for 39 in that decimation of the host team in 67 overs.
Bangladesh’s run chase crashed down triggered by leggie Prabath Jayasuriya clean bowling Mahmudul Hasan Joy for 24 (32b 3×4) with the score 37 in 9.5 overs. Vishwa Fernando struck 12 runs later sending back Zakir Hasan for 19 caught by Dhananjaya de Silva – 51 for 2 after 15 overs. Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto riding a form slump scraoed for 20 off 55 balls before being comprehensively bowled by Lahiru Kumara as Bangladesh slid to 94 for 3 after 26.2 overs. Mominul Haque brought brief respite for his side riding aggression for exactly 50 off 56 with 8 boundaries and a six in adding 38 for the fourth wicket with Shakib Al-Hasan 36 off 53 (3×4) before Jayasuriya struck again having Haque caught by Kumara – 132 for 4 33.1 overs. Shakib Al-Hasan and Litton Das resisted posting 60 for the fifth wicket when Kamindu Mendis ended the threatening partnership when he had Hasan caught by Nishan Madushka reducing the hosts to 193 for 5 into 49.4 overs. Four runs later Kumara had Litton Das caught behind by Mendis for 38 (72b, 4×4) with Bangladesh in dire straits at 6 for 197. The seventh wicket pair of Mehidy Hasan Miraz n.o. 44 off 49 with 7 boundaries, and Shahadat Hossain 15 (34b, 2×4) added 46 for the seventh wicket, but Bangladesh’s resistance continued to be short lived with Kamindu Mendis 15 trapping him leg before wicket as the Lankans ended the day on a high with their tails up of completing the job on the final day as Bangladesh stared down the barrel of defeat with just 3 wickets in hand.
CHIEF SCORES
Sri Lanka 531 & 157/7 decl.(40 Overs) RR: 3.92
(Angelo Mathews 56, Nishan Madushka 34, Prabath Jayasuriya n.o. 28, Hasan Mahmud 4/65, Khaled Ahmed 2/34, Shakib Al-Hasan 1/39)
Bangladesh 178 & 268/7 (67 Overs) RR: 4.00
(Mominul Haque 50, Mehidy Hasan Miraz n.o. 44, Litton Das 38, Shakib Al-Hasan 36, Mahmudul Hasan Joy 24, Najmul Hossain Shanto 20, Zakir Hasan 19, Shahadat Hossain 15, Taijul Islam n.o. 10, Kamindu Mendis 2/22, Lahiru Kumara 2/41, Prabath Jayasuriya 2/79, Vishwa Fernando 1/39)
