Twitter Reactions: Bangladesh tighten the screws on Sri Lanka as bad light halts play in Pallekele
Skipper Mominul Haque notched his maiden Test ton outside home, putting his team in a commanding position.
Only 65 overs were possible in the second day’s play of the opening Test between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. At the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, the Tigers would be the happier team after they ended on 474 for the loss of four wickets in 155 overs. With three days left, the visitors would be looking to add more runs on the third day and then put pressure on Dimuth Karunaratne’s men.
Mominul gains personal milestone
In the first session, Bangladesh scored 76 runs and didn’t lose a single wicket after scoring 302 runs on the first day. Mominul Haque, their skipper, notched his 11th Test ton off 224 balls in only his 44th Test match. It also happened to his maiden Test century outside home. The left-handed Najmul Hossain Shanto carried on from where he left and kept milking the bowling without much trouble.
In the second session, Lahiru Kumara gave the Lankans a breather as he pinned Shanto, who scored 163 runs with 17 fours and one six. The dismissal also brought an end to a 242-run partnership between Shanto and Mominul. The former gave a simple caught and bowled chance to Kumara to perish. By then, the Tigers were already on the driver’s seat, having scored 394 in 124.1 overs.
Mushfiqur and Liton hold the fort
In the second session itself, Mominul got out to off-spinner Dhananjaya de Silva. The left-hander racked up 127 runs off 304 balls and his knock was laced with 11 fours. Mominul went for an ambitious drive but edged one to Lahiru Thirimanne. At Tea, the Tigers were at 440 for four in 131 overs. The onus was on Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das to steady the ship from there onwards.
Mushfiqur was the more patient of the two as he stayed unbeaten on 43 runs off 107 balls with four fours. Liton, on the other hand, was a tad more attacking in his 39-ball 25 at an impressive strike rate of 64.10. He also managed to hit a six. As far as the Lankans are concerned, they would be looking to mitigate the damage to some extent, trying to get some early wickets on the third’s day’s play.
Here’s how the netizens reacted to Bangladesh’s batting display:
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