Twitter Reactions: Sri Lanka on the brink of victory after Taijul Islam’s fifer

Dimuth Karunaratne’s Sri Lanka, well and truly, have the upper hand after the close of play on the fourth day of the second Test against Bangladesh in Pallekele. With the Tigers needing 260 runs and five wickets in hand, the hosts can hope to wrap things up early on day five. The track has worsened over the course of the game and the spinners have gotten prodigious turn to ruffle the batters.

Karunaratne leads the charge

After losing two early wickets late on the third day, the Lankans made a reasonable comeback. Even as the other batters contributed in bits and pieces, skipper Karunaratne held the fort from one end. He backed up his ton with a gutsy 78-ball 66 with seven fours and one six. The southpaw showed intent and set the tone. In the end, it was part-timer Saif Haasan, who accounted for his wicket.

He got apt support from Dhananjaya de Silva as the latter got a 52-ball 41 on a wearing surface. Pathum Nissanka and Niroshan Dickwella scored in the 20s with the Lankans declaring at 194 for nine wickets. For Bangladesh, Taijul Islam showed his class and picked up a five-wicket haul. Mehidy Hasan Miraz got the prized wicket of De Silva. Taskin Ahmed and Saif shared one wicket each.

Bangladesh on the mat

Chasing 437, the Tigers tried to take the attacking route. Ramesh Mendis struck first blood, getting rid of Tamim Iqbal for 24. Saif scored 34 but threw his wicket away to Praveen Jayawickrama. Najmul Hossain Shanto, after bagging back-to-back ducks, looked good for his 26 before falling prey to Jayawickrama. Skipper Mominul Haque became Mendis’s second victim after scoring a 48-ball 32.

Mushfiqur Rahim tried to put his head down amidst the regular fall of wickets. Just when he looked set at 40, Mendis accounted for his wicket. Mushfiqur’s knock was laced with five fours and when he got out, the Tigers needed 266 runs. Liton Das got an LBW decision reverse and stayed unbeaten on 14 off 39 balls. Along with him is Mehidy, and together they have a tough task at hand on day five.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to Sri Lanka’s dominance

Best thing about Praveen is that he isn't magic like Ajantha Mendis. He is just normal like Herath. Genuine spinner.#SLvsBAN

— Kau da Pinocchio (@kaudapinocchio) May 2, 2021

Its incredible to see a young spinner running an international batting line up. Almost unimaginable to see two of them doing it at the same time! #JayaMenda #SLvBAN

— Panduka (@pandslfc) May 2, 2021

A win for Sri Lanka is a very likely outcome, but in the game of cricket there are no guarantees.#SLvBAN

— Tamera Ali (@guyanatic) May 2, 2021

Young Jayawickrama looks a talent for SL. With him and Embuldeniya they look well set in the spin department for the future. #SLvBAN

— Isaac (@IRawcliffeCric) May 2, 2021

Sri Lanka will require only 5 wickets to wrap up the series tomorrow#SLvBAN

— Abhijeet ♞ (@TheYorkerBall) May 2, 2021

Day 4 officially Called Off #SLvBAN pic.twitter.com/1tGCLfhvSf

— DANUSHKA ARAVINDA (@DanuskaAravinda) May 2, 2021

Ramesh gets good bounce off the wicket. It will be nice to pair it with a top spinner and a slider. Would look great in Aussie pitches #SLvBAN

— Lakshitha "The Lucky one" Dassanayake (@lakshithadasan3) May 2, 2021

Play has been suspended for bad light. Sri Lanka will try to win on the final day requiring 5 more wickets in the second Test Match #SLvBAN

— Dennis Ethan (@dens_Ethan) May 2, 2021

It can be anyone’s game . Another wicket before end of day will put @OfficialSLC on a strong position . @BCBtigers are good fighters . @IamDimuth and team has a good chance to win the game. #Cricket #SLvBAN

— Suresh Dissanayake (@SureshDissanay8) May 2, 2021

An enthralling day and a half of Test cricket with Bangladesh on 112/3 at Tea on Day 4, having been set a steep target of 437 by the Sri Lankans.

Praveen Jayawickrama follows up his record 6 wicket haul in the 1st innings with 2 (so far) in the 2nd. #SLvBAN #SLvsBAN

— Haansi Putuwa Pundit (@HaansiPutuwa) May 2, 2021