Sri Lanka dominated Day 2 at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. After bowling out Bangladesh for 247, the hosts rode on a majestic unbeaten 4th Test ton from Pathum Nissanka to surge ahead in the contest. Pathum Nissanka was ably supported initially by his opening partner Lahiru Udara and then by Dinesh Chandimal who missed out on his ton late in the day. It means Sri Lanka are 43 runs ahead with 8 wickets in hand at the end of the day.
Taijul Islam scored a useful 33 as Bangladesh added 27 more runs to their tally to be bowled out for 247 with Asitha Fernando and Sonal Dinusha picking up 3 wickets apiece. Sri Lanka started positively with the bat as the opening duo put on 88 for the first wicket. Then Dinesh Chandimal came in to join Pathum Nissanka and the duo took the game away from Bangladesh with a 194-run stand. Late in the day, Dinesh gave his wicket away for 93 while Nissanka remained unbeaten on 146 off 238 balls as Sri Lanka ended the day at 290/2 in 78 overs.
Taijul Islam adds 27 runs with the tail; Sri Lanka openers off to a solid start in the morning session.
Taijul Islam and Ebadot Hossain resumed for Bangladesh at the score of 220/8 in 71 overs. Taijul played his shots and Ebadot tried to hang in there for a while. It did not take long for Sri Lanka to strike as Asitha Fernando trapped Ebadot Hossain for 8 and although the batter reviewed it was dead plumb in front. It was the 4th over of the day and 9 runs were added to the overnight score as the visitors were 229/9 at this stage.
Nahid Rana was the last man to come to bat. Taijul Islam scored all the runs from here while Rana hung on. Sonal Dinusha ultimately got rid of Taijul Islam for 33 off 60 balls laced with 5 boundaries to his name as Bangladesh were bowled out for 247 in 79.3 overs. 6 extras given by the fielding side.
Asitha Fernando and debutant Sonal Dinusha picked up 3 wickets apiece while Vishwa Fernando picked up a couple of wickets. A wicket apiece for Tharindu Ratnayake and captain Dhananjaya de Silva as Sri Lanka had done a decent job in restricting Bangladesh to under 250.
In reply, Sri Lankan openers were quick off the blocks as Bangladesh bowlers failed to find the right lines and lengths with the new ball. The openers took advantage of it and scored the first 50 runs inside 10 overs. They were 55 runs in 10 overs without breaking a sweat. Both Udara and Nissanka were equally aggressive and did not spare the visitors bowlers.
Towards the backend of the session, Bangladesh did stem the flow of runs but could not get the breakthrough. Taijul Islam brought some control to the proceedings, but the rest were unimpressive to say the least. In the end, when Lunch was taken Sri Lanka were 83/0 in 21 overs with Pathum Nissanka batting on 42* off 64 balls while Lahiru Udara was batting on 40* off 62 balls. No success for Bangladesh in the morning session.
Udara falls to Taijul for the third time; Nissanka and Chandimal drive home the advantage in the afternoon session.
The afternoon session started with some joy for Bangladesh as Lahiru Udara fell to Taijul Islam for the third time in three innings in this series. He was trapped in front initially given NOT OUT but reversed to OUT on DRS. He fell for 40 off 65 balls as Sri Lanka lost their first wicket for 88 runs. The platform was set for the others to cash in from here.
The duo got together and started to build a partnership against ineffective Bangladesh bowling. Apart from Taijul, nobody could stop the flow of runs and were unimpressive. Pathum Nissanka soon completed his fifty in 79 balls and was set for a big knock. Dinesh Chandimal was quite aggressive initially as he took on the bowling and was going at more than run a ball.
Nissanka was calm and played according to the situation. He played a chanceless knock out there. Mehidy Hasan Miraz controlled things for a while but the fast bowlers in Nahid and Ebadot were unimpressive with their efforts as Bangladesh played into Sri Lanka’s hands by going for wickets and trying too much.
Chandimal survived a scare when he was given out when batting on 30 to Taijul Islam. He reviewed it and got the decision overturned in his favour in the 37th over. Apart from this, there were no alarms for Sri Lanka. Ebadot was taken to the cleaners by Chandimal. Soon in the 47th over, Dinesh Chandimal completed his 34th Test match fifty off 70 balls and was set to convert into a big score.
Nissanka reached the 90s before Tea as Sri Lanka went into the interval at 190/1 in 50 overs. Pathum Nissanka was batting on 93* off 155 balls while Dinesh Chandimal was with him on 54* off 81 balls. The only wicket fell to Taijul Islam.
Nissanka completes his milestone and drives home the advantage with Chandimal; Bangladesh get a late wicket at the end of the day.
After Tea, the duo continued their merry ways. But Nissanka survived a scare as a snorter from Nahid Rana hit his helmet and a mandatory concussion test was done on him and helmet was changed. He was in the nervous 90s as he got hit on helmet twice in the final session. But he eventually got to his hundred in style as he cut the short and wide ball through backward point for a cracking boundary and reached his 4th Test hundred and his second in the series. He got there in 167 balls as the 200 came up for Sri Lanka as well.
The partnership which had crossed the 100-run mark in the afternoon session continued to grow and deflate the Bangladesh bowlers who had no answers to this pair. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was caught reactive at times and not proactive. Both the players mixed caution with aggression beautifully and looked that Bangladesh will have to buy a wicket from somewhere.
Every bowler tried but no one could break this partnership which was huge. Slowly, the partnership crossed 150 and Sri Lanka took the lead after 69 overs of batting. Nissanka was playing his shots and opening up while Chandimal was taking his time and waiting for the loose balls. Chandimal also played his shots when it was warranted and things looked extremely bleak for Bangladesh.
But against the run of play, Bangladesh got the breakthrough as Nayeem Hasan was gifted a wicket. Chandimal went for the reverse sweep and got a bottom edge flying in the vacant slip region. Litton Das moved to his right and took the catch easily. Dinesh Chandimal would be kicking himself for giving his wicket away for 93 off 153 balls with 10 fours and 1 six to his name.
The 194-run stand for the second wicket was broken. Sri Lanka were well-placed at 282/2 in 75.1 overs. Night watchman Prabath Jayasuriya was sent into bat and did his job to steer through to the close of play. Bangladesh burnt a review on Prabath as well and are down to 1 review left now.
Prabath Jayasuriya was unbeaten on 5* off 13 balls while the man of the moment Pathum Nissanka was still unbeaten on 146* off 238 balls with 18 boundaries to his name so far. Sri Lanka ended the day at 290/2 in 78 overs with a lead of 43 runs. 6 extras have already been given by Bangladesh. Taijul Islam has been the pick of the bowlers with figures of 1/90 in 32 overs. A lucky wicket to Nayeem Hasan as well. Bangladesh will have their work cut out when play resumes on Day 3.
What Lies Ahead.
The moving day i.e. Day 3 will also start early with the first ball scheduled to be bowled at 9:53 AM IST and Local Time. Sri Lanka are in the driving seat and with so many wickets in hand, they would like to continue batting and not give a sniff to Bangladesh. If they want they can bat the whole day tomorrow and try and bat once before putting Bangladesh under extreme pressure on a deteriorating surface. For Bangladesh, it is all about damage control and get wickets and limit the lead as low as possible.
An interesting third day’s play awaits us all at the SSC in Colombo. Rain stayed away today and we hope for much of the same when we get underway on Day 3. Can Bangladesh fight back? Or will Sri Lanka continue its dominance? Only time will tell.
Also Read: SL vs BAN: Sonal Dinusha Shines On Test Debut With Ball On A Rain-Hit Day In Colombo