A resilient century from Angelo Mathews gave Sri Lanka the upper hand as the tourists finished Day 1 of the first Test against Bangladesh on 258-4 at the Zahur ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Sunday.
Mathews remained unbeaten on 114 while Dinesh Chandimal was giving him company at the other end on 34. The duo has already accumulated 75 runs for the sixth wicket.
Spinners took all four wickets to fall on the day with a returning Nayeem Hasan taking two wickets and Taijul Islam and Shakib Al Hasan sharing the other two scalps.
Sent to bowl on a barren pitch, Bangladesh’s best bet to pick up early wickets was their pacers. But the pace duo of Khaled Ahmed and Shoriful Islam couldn’t make use of the early morning moisture and after just seven overs, skipper Mominul Haque handed the ball to off-spinner Nayeem Hasan.
Nayeem made the breakthrough in his very first over, trapping Sri Lanka’s skipper Dimuth Karunaratne with a quicker delivery to dismiss him for nine.
Nayeem struck a second time in the morning session, this time getting opener Oshada Fernando caught behind the wickets for 36. Fernando reviewed the decision but the on-field umpire’s call was upheld.
Bangladesh was the happier side at the lunch interval, with Sri Lanka two down for 73. But the visitors came back strongly after the break thanks to Mendis and Mathews, who didn’t allow the hosts any wickets in the post-lunch session.
The Tigers thought they had Mathews out for 38, when he was given LBW off the bowling of Taijul. But the experienced Sri Lankan reviewed the decision and it was rightfully overturned.
Sri Lanka ended the session on 158-2 and looked on their way to a big score. Bangladesh needed quick wickets to bounce back in the contest and they did exactly that.
In the very first ball after the tea break, Mendis hit a loose delivery from Taijul straight to Nayeem at mid-wicket, who gleefully took the catch.
Taijul nearly got his second wicket in the session, when he produced an edge off Mathews bat. But the ball evaded the slip fielder’s hand and ran to the boundary to rub more salt on the wound.
Shakib, who is playing the Test after recovering from a Covid-19 infection in three days, dismissed Dhananjaya de Silva for six in the following over to reduce Sri Lanka to 183-4.
Mahmudul Hasan Joy deserves a lot of credit for the wicket as the opener took a diving catch while others were busy appealing for LBW. After the umpire rejected their plea, Bangladesh sent the decision upstairs. Replays showed that the ball took an inside edge then hit the pads before finding its way into Joy’s hands.
Mathews and Chandimal then took control over the match with a solid sixth wicket stand. The experienced duo negotiated Bangladesh’s three-pronged spin attack and new ball.
Mathews completed his 12th Test century while Chandimal gave him ample support at the other end as the tourists ended the first day’s play with a slight edge.