At the start of the final day in Galle, all four results were possible. But rain played spoilsport as it arrived after over an hour’s play and delayed proceedings for 3.5 hours. It meant the match ended in a draw but not before Najmul Hossain Shanto became the first Bangladesh captain to score century in each innings and Sri Lanka losing 4 wickets in the improbable chase before holding on for the draw.
Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim resumed proceedings and once again had a century plus partnership between them. Rahim was run out for 49 at the stroke of the rain break. After a long delay, Litton Das and Jaker Ali fell cheaply while Shanto completed his seventh Test ton and second in this Test before playing shots and declaring the innings. S
ri Lanka wobbled and lost 4 wickets in the fourth innings to be reduced to 72/4 in 32 overs when the captains shook hands and the match ended in a draw. With the Test match over, let’s recap as to what happened through the course of the last five days.
Mushfiqur Rahim and Najmul Hossain Shanto tons powered Bangladesh to 495.
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Bangladesh lost three early wickets to be reduced to 45/3 in the first hour. Thereafter, we saw two majestic innings from two experienced campaigners. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto scored 148 off 279 balls while Mushfiqur Rahim scored 163 off 350 balls and the duo put on 264 off 480 balls for the fourth wicket. Litton Das was not to be left behind as he scored 90 off 123 balls and shared a partnership of 149 runs off 264 balls. This enabled Bangladesh to get to 484 with 15 extras given by the fielding side.
It was a hard toil for the Sri Lankan bowlers with Asitha Fernando standing out with figures of 3/80 in 28 overs. Milan Rathnayake finished with 3/38 in 22.4 overs while Tharindu Ratnayake finished with a marathon spell of 49.2 overs 3/196. Prabath Jayasuriya bowled 48 overs and returned wicketless for the first time at Galle and gave away 154 runs.
Pathum Nissanka’s ton and Nayeem Hasan’s five-wicket haul headlines Sri Lanka’s 485
In reply, Sri Lanka made a solid start. Lahiru Udara was quick off the blocks and scored 29 off 34 balls. But it was the Pathum Nissanka show as the right-hander dazzled at Galle. He scored an amazing 187 off 256 balls and missed out on his maiden double ton by a whisker. He was ably supported by Dinesh Chandimal (54 off 119 balls), Angelo Mathews (39 off 69 balls), Dhananjaya de Silva (19 off 36 balls).
Later on, Kamindu Mendis held the latter part of the innings and scored 87 off 148 balls and was ably supported by Milan Rathnayake who scored 39 off 83 balls. This meant Sri Lanka finished with 485 with the help of 11 extras given by the fielding side.
It was a hard toil for the Bangladesh bowlers as well. Nayeem Hasan bowled his heart out and a marathon spell picking up 5/121 in 43.2 overs. He was ably supported by Hasan Mahmud who finished with 3/74 in 21 overs. Taijul Islam bowled a long spell of 41 overs giving away 156 runs for a solitary wicket while Mominul Haque finished with 1/28 in 7 overs. This meant Bangladesh had a slender first innings lead of 10 runs.
Najmul Hossain Shanto’s second hundred of the game powers Bangladesh forward
In their second innings, Bangladesh lost Anamul Haque early again. Mominul Haque also scored only 14. Shadman Islam returned to form and scored a good-looking 76 off 126 balls. But it was once again captain Najmul Hossain Shanto taking centre stage and scoring a majestic seventh Test ton.
Najmul Shanto Hossain became the first Bangladesh captain to score a century in each innings. He was ably supported by Mushfiqur Rahim who ran himself out when he was on 49. Shanto remained unbeaten on 125* off 199 balls as Bangladesh declared their second innings at 285/6 in 87 overs.
For Sri Lanka, Tharindu Ratnayake was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/102 in 29 overs. Prabath Jayasuriya finally got a wicket in the Test match and finished with 1/92 in 29 overs. A wicket also to Milan Rathnayake as he finished with 1/26 in 12 overs. This meant an impossible target of 296 for Sri Lanka in 37 overs.
Sri Lanka lose 4 wickets in the chase; but hangs on for a draw.
Chasing 296 in just 37 overs, Sri Lanka came out flying thanks to Pathum Nissanka who scored 24 off 25 balls which included 4 boundaries. But Lahiru Udara went cheaply and Nissanka fell soon after. After that Sri Lanka shut shop as we got to see Angelo Mathews for the last time in Test cricket.
Angelo Mathews came out and hit one boundary in his 8 off 45 balls. He was dismissed and so was Dinesh Chandimal for a low score. In the end, Kamindu Mendis was unbeaten on 12* off 35 balls while skipper Dhananjaya de Silva was unbeaten on 12* off 30 balls. Sri Lanka were 72/4 in 32 overs when both captains shook hands and call and end to the proceedings.
Only three bowlers used by Bangladesh in this innings. Taijul Islam was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/23 in 16 overs. The other wicket fell to Nayeem Hasan as he finished with 1/29 in 13 overs. Hasan Mahmud bowled only 3 overs giving away 19 runs. So, this match ends in a draw and for his century in both the innings Najmul Hossain Shanto was awarded the Player of the Match award.
What Lies Ahead
Both teams now will head off from Galle to Colombo. The Sinhalese Sports Club is set to host the second Test match from June 25th. This is a 2-match series. So, it will be a winner take all battle. Bangladesh came out better and were the better team in this game. Expect the pitch in Colombo to be more result-oriented than this one. The Galle one was a road. Both teams get 4 points each in the WTC table to start this new cycle.
The second Test will be an intriguing one as Sri Lanka will have to find a replacement for Angelo Mathews. Who will that be? We will find out in the second Test match. The first Test was intriguing and had its ebbs and flows. The second Test promises to be the same starting on Wednesday the 25th of June.
Also Read: SL vs BAN : Kamindu Mendis & Nayeem Hasan Optimistic Of Seeing Winning Ways On Day 5 At Galle