Bangladesh were in a position of command at the end of day four on Saturday at Colombo’s P Sara Oval, with a maiden Test win on Sri Lankan soil within touching distance.
Despite Lankan opener Dimuth Karunaratne scoring a solid 126 on a day where ball dominated the bat, the hosts were only 139 runs ahead, and were struggling at 268/8 when stumps was called. After scoring an exquisite hundred, Bangladesh talisman Shakib Al Hasan (3/61) starred with the ball, triggering a collapse in the final session.
Pacer Mustafizur Rahman (3/52) picked up three top-order batsmen. The left-armer bagged the wickets of first innings centurion Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis, who was given out through a controversial DRS call. From being well set at 176/3, the Lankans slumped to 190/6, which dramatically swung the momentum in favour of Mushfiqur Rahim’s side.
Dilruwan Perera and Suranga Lakmal stitched a priceless 30-run stand to steer their side to safety at the close of play, but the ball is firmly in the court of the visitors.
Brief score:
- Sri Lanka 338 & 268/8 (Dimuth Karunaratne 126, Kusal Mendis 36; Mustafizur Rahman 3/52, Shakib Al Hasan 3/61) lead Bangladesh 467 by 139 runs