By Srian Obeyesekere
The first test was drawn, but Sri Lanka could not be happy with losing four front liners for 72 runs in 32 overs set an impossible as it was target of 296 to win off 37 overs in the final run up after Bangladesh had declared on 285 for 6 wickets which was in effect a bad declaration of making a match of it yesterday at the Galle International Cricket Stadium in a face off that the Lankan camp’s omission of two inform players in opening batsman Nishan Madushka and the inform off spinner Akila Dananjaya who had performed exceptionally in a long run of the domestic scene which were thus questionable kickbacks.
In a game that the bat held sway, Bangladesh declared their second innings on 285 for 6 wickets with skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto going on to complete twin centuries striking an unbeaten 124 off 199 balls filled with 9 boundaries and 3 sixes which further set him apart as one of modern day cricket’s top guns with the bat in test cricket, the twin century milestone apparently winning him the Player of the Match award over Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka who too was right up there in contention for the top award given his rousing first innings 187.
The failure of the Lankan spinners in particular and moreover Galle’s top match winning wicket taker in recent times Prabath Jayasuriya to deliver on the final day with the waning wicket known to favour spinners and proving expensive going wicketless for 154 in the first innings and just the one wicket for 92 in the next was a dent while debutant Tharindu Rathnayake’s 3 wickets each in the two innings at costs of 196 and 102 respectively wasn’t enough to stop Bangladesh’s run flow.
Furthermore, Sri Lanka’s failure to capitalize on a solid first innings 368 for 4 with both Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis flopping put paid the host’s chances of pressurizing Bangladesh where in the tough grind one of the two at least should have clicked.
Chief Scores
Bangladesh 495
(Rahim 163, Shanto 148, Asitha Fernando 4/86, Tharindu Rathnayake 3/196, Milan Rathnayake 3/39)
And 285/6 decl. (87 Overs)
(Najmul Hossain Shanto n.o. 125, Shadman Islam 76, Mushfiqur Rahim 49, Tharindu Rathnayake 3/102, Milan Rathnayake 1/26, Prabath Jayasuriya 1/92)
Sri Lanka 485
(Pathum Nissanka 187, Nayeem Hasan 5/121, Hasan Mahmud 3/74)
And 72/ (32 Overs)
(Kamindu Mendis n.o. 12, Dhananjaya de Silva n.o. 12, Taijul Islam 3/23, Nayeem Hasan 1/4)
