Tamim gone as Bangladesh attempt record chase
Toss and teams:
The second Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh has begun with the away side winning the toss and electing to bat first. Bangladesh made two changes as they brought in Sabbir Rahman and Abdur Razzak in place of Mossadek Hossain and Sunzamul Islam. This is Razzak's first Test since 2014, exactly 4 years ago.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka made two changes as they brought in Akila Dhananjaya and Danushka Gunathilaka.
Razzak strikes!
In his 3rd over itself, the veteran struck as he took the wicket Karunaratne, stumping him with his trickery. Like they say, class never dies! Sri Lanka are batting at 28/1 after 8.1 overs.
Taijul scalps Dananjaya
And the second wicket of the day has been picked by another slow left-arm bowler Taijul Islam. After the loss of Karunaratne, Sri Lanka countered very well with Kusal Mendis on the attack. However, Taijul Islam broke the partnership by taking the wicket of Dananjaya de Silva. Sri Lanka are currently batting at 66 for 2 after 19 overs.
Kusal Mendis is on 41 and Danushka Gunathilaka is on 2.
The tempest of Razzak
Why did Bangladesh not play him in the first test?! I mean, wow! This man is on fire. Nobody can guess that he is playing his first Test in four years. Picking up Danushka Gunathilaka and captain Dinesh Chandimal in consecutive deliveries, Razzak has disrupted the top-order of the Lankans. His bowling figures now stand at 24 for 3 after 7 overs as Sri Lanka find themselves in a bit of bother going to lunch at 105/4.
Kusal Mendis is batting at 64 while Roshen Silva is at 5.
Post-lunch fury
Man, what is Razzak on? It doesn't feel like he hasn't played for 4 years, rather it is as though he played in an alien land for those years in order to return at his best. In only the second ball of the session, the set Kusal Mendis' stumps were cleaned up by the veteran for 69. Niroshan Dickwella came next, but couldn't last long as Taijul Islam cleaned him up for just a run.
Sri Lanka are now batting at 117 for 6 with Roshen Silva and Dilruwan Perera on the crease.
Sabbir's mistake allows Sri Lanka to crawl back
Dilruwan Perera was batting at 18 when he edged Mustafizur's delivery to the slip. Sabbir Rahman, brought into the team to mainly negate the absence of a proper slip fielder, saw the ball coming with eyes popped up...but he dropped it. And now, Dilruwan is batting at 30 while he is being brilliantly supported by Roshen Silva on the other end with 24 runs to his name.
Sri Lanka are at 159/6.
Taijul strikes, but SL hold on
Just when Dilruwan Perera was looking like the danger man, Taijul Islam got his wicket as he departed for 31. In came Akila Dhananjaya to replace him, and he has done well so far in supporting the free-batting Roshen Silva. While the latter is at 45, the former is batting on 20 as Sri Lanka have crossed the 200 barrier and are now at 205 after 7 wickets.
Bangladesh break free just before tea
In a fashion similar to the over prior to lunch, Bangladesh picked multiple Sri Lanka scalps to end the session on a high. While Taijul Islam got the wicket of Dilruwan Perera, Mustafizur Rahman picked the scalp of Akila Dhananjaya, who was batting at 20. Tea has been taken now.
Lakmal goes past 100!
After Sri Lanka became all-out at 222, Bangladesh came on to bat in their 1st innings. The Tigers lost quick wickets as Suranga Lakmal picked up his 100th Test scalp by dismissing Tamim Iqbal. The opener made 4 runs and was out caught and bowled by Lakmal.
Bangladesh lost the next wicket because of Mominul's lazy and lethargic run, who didn't even realize that the ball was coming to his end after Kayes took off for a single from the striking end. Following Mominul's dismissal for a duck Mushfiqur Rahim also could not manage to score more than 1 run before getting out bowled by Lakmal.
Both Imrul Kayes and Liton Das are batting on 18 runs as Bangladesh are at 43 for 3.
Stumps
A total of 14 wickets were lost in the day, quite the definition of eventful. Sri Lanka, however, must be feeling like they are on top right now. For Bangladesh, Liton Das has provided a ray of hope as he is batting at 24 alongside night-watchman Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who has made 5 thus far.
Suranga Lakmal got two wickets while Dilruwan Perera got the other one, with Mominul Haque getting run out. It was a great day for the bowlers. Indeed, Abdur Razzak and Taijul Islam took four wickets apiece with Mustafizur taking the remaining two Sri Lanka scalps.
At this point, Sri Lanka are on top and Bangladesh will hope that Liton Das continues to bat long tomorrow.
Scores:
Sri Lanka - 222 all out
Bangladesh - 56 for 4 (Bangladesh trail by 166 runs)
----Day 2----
Captain comes to bat
Bangladesh have lost five wickets as Liton Das got out scoring 25 runs. Suranga Lakmal dismissed the batsman with a short and wide delivery.
The Tigers now need a big partnership as things are getting more difficult for them. Their skipper Mahmudullah Riyad is on the crease along with Mehidy Hasan Miraz. These two batsmen have to play responsibly if Bangladesh want to take a lead.
Sri Lanka's below par total now appears to be more than enough as Bangladesh are losing wickets frequently. With Shakib Al Hasan being absent, the team have to put some extra efforts to fill the gap. Although they did it beautifully while bowling, they have failed to repeat it in their batting so far.
Mahmudullah is batting on 6 runs and Mehidy is batting on 30 runs as Bangladesh are at 88 for 5.
Dananjaya hits thrice
Bangladesh are all-out at 110 runs. The downfall started as Liton Das got out. The next man to return to the pavilion was the captain himself. Mahmudullah Riyad made 17 runs before Dananjaya bowled him out. The same bowler dismissed Sabbir Rahman as well.
Abdur Razzak was also caught and bowled by Dananjaya after adding 1 run to the total. Taijul Islam was run out, scoring the same amount of run. Mustafizur Rahman was trapped lbw by Dilruwan Perera.
Bangladesh struggled as they have lost six wickets before finishing a session on day-2. Mehidy Hasan Miraz was on the crease trying to salvage some pride for the Tigers. He scored 38 runs but could not help the team enough as he got no support from the other end.
Sri Lanka three down after tea
Sri Lanka are leading by 192 runs in the second innings after losing 4 wickets. Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal is now on the crease alongside Roshen Silva.
Kusal Mendis was the first Lankan batsman to return to the pavilion as Razzak trapped him lbw after he made 7 runs. Then Dananjaya was out bowled by Taijul on 28 runs. Danushka was also trapped plumb by Mustafizur after scoring 17 runs.
Sri Lanka are now batting at 80 runs for 3 wickets.
Miraz and Mustafizur strikes
Mehidy Hasan Miraz picked up Dimuth Karunaratne's wicket on his individual score of 32. Imrul Kayes took a stunning catch at short mid-wicket to get him out. Later, Miraz dismissed the Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal too. Chandimal scored 30 runs before leaving the pitch.
After the skipper's exit, NIroshan Dickwella, Dilruwan Perera, and Akila Danajaya were out and could not manage to score more than 10 runs apiece. Taijul scalped the wicket of Dikwella and Mustafizur was on a hat-trick after both Dilruwan and Dananjaya were out in two successive deliveries, However, he missed the opportunity.
Roshen Silva is still fighting to stretch their lead further. He has picked up his half-century. Roshen is batting on 58 runs and Suranga Lakmal, the new man on the crease, is batting on 7 runs. Sri Lanka leading by 312 runs as their total has reached 200 runs for 8 wickets at the end of day-2.
Day 3: Sri Lanka post 226
Day 3 began with the Lankans adding 26 more runs to take their score to 226. Suranga Lakmal and Rangana Herath were dismissed in successive deliveries by Taijul Islam for 21 and 0. Roshen Silva stayed unbeaten 70, setting a target of 339 runs for the Tigers to win the Test.
The highest 4th innings chase at the Shere Bangla National stadium is only 209 runs, so Bangladesh will have to break a record in order to win this Test.
Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes, the openers, came to bat, but Tamim Iqbal is already gone as Bangladesh are staring at defeat.
Scores:
Sri Lanka - 222 all-out
Bangladesh - 110 all-out
Bangladesh- 2/1
Sri Lanka - 226 all-out
Bangladesh need 337 runs to win
