Colombo: Dinesh Chandimal scored an unbeaten 86 to help Sri Lanka reach 238-7 at stumps on the opening day of the second Test against Bangladesh on Wednesday.
Bangladesh bowlers dominated the first session of what is their country’s 100th Test match and took wickets at regular intervals. Left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman (2-32) and off spinner Mehedi Hasan (2-58) were the most successful bowlers for the visitors.
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first, but Bangladesh bowlers restricted the hosts to 70-4 at lunch. Sri Lanka would have been bowled out cheaply if not for two crucial partnerships involving Chandimal.
After lunch Chandimal led the first recovery with a 66-run partnership with Dhananjaya de Silva (34). Sri Lanka slumped again after de Silva was bowled by left-arm spinner Taijul Islam and lost seven wickets for 195 before Chandimal combined with captain Rangana Herath for an unbroken 43-run partnership for the eighth wicket.
Herath was batting on 18 when bad light stopped play. Chandimal spent more than five hours at the crease and faced 210 deliveries and hit just four boundaries. Niroshan Dickwella also scored 34.
Earlier in the morning session, Bangladesh bowlers bowled tight lines and put the Sri Lankan openers under pressure.
Dimuth Karunaratne (7) slashed away from his body to a ball from left-arm seamer Rahman and was caught at gully by Hasan with the total on 13. Hasan (2-32) then dismissed Kusal Mendis (5), stumped by captain Mushfiqur Rahim, and had Upul Tharanga (11) caught at slip by Soumya Sarkar.
Both Mendis and Tharanga had scored centuries in Sri Lanka’s win in the first test.
Seamer Subashis Roy trapped Asela Gunaratne lbw at the stroke of lunch.
Bangladesh made four changes to the line-up which lost the series-opener, leaving out Mahmudullah Riyad, Mominul Haque, Taskin Ahmed and Liton Das from the first test.
Mossadek Hossain, who has played limited-overs international cricket, was handed a first test cap. Batsmen Imrul Kayes, Sabbir Rahman and Islam have all been recalled to the starting XI.
Sri Lanka left out fast bowler Lahiru Kumara because of injury and added an extra batsman in de Silva.
Sri Lanka leads the two-match series after a 259-run win at Galle last week.
— AP
