It took just about 30 minutes for Sri Lanka to clean up the last 4 wickets and win the contest by an innings and 78 runs. Prabath Jayasuriya cleaned up the tail and picked 3 of the last 4 wickets to skittle Bangladesh out for 133 in 44.2 overs. A dominant win for Sri Lanka as they won the series 1-0 and get crucial WTC points in this new cycle.
Starting the day at 115/6, Bangladesh could add only 2 runs to their overnight tally when Litton Das the last recognized batter was prized out by Jayasuriya for 14. The floodgates opened after that as Nayeem Hasan. Taijul Islam and Ebadot Hossain fell in quick succession as the Test match was wrapped up with ease. Prabath got a five-wicket haul; his 12th in Tests while Tharindu Ratnayake and captain Dhananjaya de Silva got a couple of wickets each. Asitha Fernando got one wicket to his name. With the Test match done and dusted, let’s recap the entire Test match played in 3 and a bit days.
Disciplined bowling restricts Bangladesh to 247.Â
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Bangladesh once again lost Anamul Haque for a duck. There were lots of starts by the Bangladesh batters but none could score a fifty which was a big problem for them in this Test match. Shadman Islam looked good and top scored with 46 off 93 balls. Mominul Haque looked decent but got out for 21 off 39 balls.
Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto missed out with a low score in this innings. Mushfiqur Rahim looked solid till he played a bad shot and was dismissed for 35 off 75 balls. Litton Das made 34 off 56 balls while Mehidy Hasan Miraz made 31 off 42 balls. Nayeem Hasan chipped in with 25 off 51 balls. Taijul Islam batted with the tail and scored 33 off 60 balls as Bangladesh finished with 247 in 79.3 overs. Only 6 extras given by the Sri Lankan bowlers.
It was a disciplined bowling performance from Sri Lanka. Wickets were shared among its bowlers. Sonal Dinusha impressed on debut picking up 3/22 in 9.3 overs. Asitha Fernando bowled really well with the new ball and finished with 3/51 in 18 overs. Vishwa Fernando was also good with the ball finishing with figures of 2/45 in 19 overs. Tharindu Ratnayake picked up a wicket in his 1/72 in 17 overs. Captain Dhananjaya de Silva picked up a wicket in his 1/15 in 5 overs. Prabath Jayasuriya returned wicketless in the first innings.
Pathum Nissanka’s majestic knock powers Sri Lanka to a huge score.Â
In reply, Sri Lanka rode on a majestic innings from Pathum Nissanka to power ahead in the contest. Nissanka scored his second hundred of the series and his 4th Test ton overall. He scored 187 in Galle and followed that up with 158 off 254 balls in Colombo. He was ably supported by opening batter Lahiru Udara who scored 40 off 65 balls and then by experienced campaigner Dinesh Chandimal who gave his wicket away on 93 off 153 balls in a 194-run match defining stand between the two. Prabath Jayasuriya hung in there as night watchman and scored 10 off 39 balls.
Captain Dhananjaya de Silva missed out but the two Mendis’ took things matter into their own hands. Kamindu Mendis scored a quickfire 33 off 41 balls while Kusal Mendis batted magnificently with the tail and scored 84 off 87 balls before being run out towards the end. Sonal Dinusha on debut made 11 off 16 balls while Tharindu Ratnayake made 10 off 20 balls. 10 extras given by the Bangladesh bowlers as Sri Lanka were eventually bowled out for 458 in 116.5 overs.
It was a hard toil for the Bangladesh bowlers as they tried too hard and did not get their rewards. One bowler who bowled his heart out and bowled a marathon spell was Taijul Islam. The left-arm spinner finished with figures of 5/131 in 42.5 overs. This was his 17th five-wicket haul in Tests. He was ably supported by fellow spinner Nayeem Hasan who finished with figures of 3/87 in 18 overs.
Nahid Rana got the wicket of Prabath Jayasuriya as he finished with figures of 1/94 in 20 overs. The pace bowlers of Bangladesh bowled wayward lines and lengths and were expensive as well.
Prabath Jayasuriya’s five-wicket haul skittles Bangladesh out cheaply to win by an innings.Â
Faced with a deficit of 211 runs, one expected Bangladesh to apply themselves and put up a fight. But they couldn’t losing wickets at regular intervals. Their top order players got starts and then got out like the first innings. Nobody got a half century. Anamul Haque finally got some runs as he scored 19 off 19 balls. Shadman Islam scored 12 off 24 balls.
Mominul Haque made 15 off 33 balls. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto made 19 off 48 balls. Mushfiqur Rahim looked good and solid for his 26 off 53 balls and was the top-scorer of the innings. Litton Das made 14 off 43 balls while Mehidy Hasan Miraz made 11 off 16 balls.
The tail did not wag like the first innings and was wiped out in no time as Bangladesh went from 115/6 at stumps on Day 3 to 133 all out in 44.2 overs in a matter of 30 minutes. The last four wickets fell today for 18 runs in no time. Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, and Ebadot Hossain all fell for single-digit scores while Nahid Rana remained unbeaten on 0 off 0 balls. Sri Lanka did not give away any extras in this innings.
All the Sri Lankan bowlers bowled well. But the man who led them to victory was Prabath Jayasuriya who was the star of the show. He finished with magnificent figures of 5/56 in 18 overs. This is his 12th five-wicket haul in Test matches. He was ably supported by Tharindu Ratnayake who finished with figures of 2/19 in 5.2 overs including the last wicket.
Captain Dhananjaya de Silva chipped in with a couple of wickets as he finished with 2/13 in 4 overs. Asitha Fernando got a wicket to his name as he finished with 1/22 in 8 overs. No wickets in the second innings for Vishwa Fernando and Sonal Dinusha.
So, Sri Lanka win by an innings and 78 runs to win the match and 2-match series 1-0 and collect important WTC points in the new cycle. For his outstanding match and series, Pathum Nissanka was awarded the Player of the Match and series.
What Lies Ahead
The Test series is done and dusted and breaking news came soon after the match got over as the Bangladesh Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has resigned from Test captaincy with immediate effect. So, a new Test captain will be chosen soon. Both teams will now move on and look forward to the white-ball format.
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will next face in a 3-match ODI series starting on 2nd July i.e. Wednesday. The first ODI will be held at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The first two ODIS are at the Premadasa Stadium. Bangladesh will be led by Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the ODIS. Charith Asalanka is set to lead the Lankan lions.
So, an interesting series awaits us in the ODIS and one will have to see who gets the ascendancy in the white-ball format. Both teams are evenly-matched at this stage. Let’s see how the ODIS unfold when it starts on July 2nd.