Galle has traditionally been a stronghold for Sri Lanka, with their spinners known for running through sides and wrapping up Tests well inside five days. Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim, however, batted like they were unfazed by that intimidating record, digging in for big centuries and breaking country records over a single day. Their unbeaten partnership of 261 was the highest in Bangladesh’s 13-year history as a Test nation and Ashraful went past his own record for the highest individual score by a Bangladesh batsman.
A common criticism of Bangladesh has been the inability of their batsmen to occupy the crease long enough and thus post totals in excess of 400 consistently. It had affected their ability to stretch Tests into the fifth day. On this occasion, Ashraful played the longest innings by a Bangladesh batsman in terms of balls faced (381) and the team passed the 400 mark with only four wickets down, well on track to beat their highest of 556 against West Indies last November. They lost only two wickets on the third day – both in the first hour – before Ashraful and Mushfiqur remained un-separated till stumps. Two wicketless sessions marked a forgettable day for Sri Lanka’s bowlers. The seamers got no swing, and Rangana Herath failed to get enough turn and bounce. Ajantha Mendis was ineffective in his comeback Test, failing to pitch on the desired length and dishing out the odd full toss. Part-timers were called upon but all changes were in vain.
The pitch was a batsman’s dream but that wasn’t taking any credit away from Bangladesh. The absence of two mainstays in the line-up was talked about as Bangladesh’s biggest challenge ahead of this game, but Ashraful allayed fears of a meltdown with a mature innings. Ashraful has fancied the Sri Lankan bowling since his debut, with five of his six Test centuries coming against them. His presence provided stability after Sri Lanka had struck in the first hour – Mominul Haque edging to slip for 55, and Mahmudullah waltzing down the track to Herath before getting off the mark. Ashraful eased the pressure by remaining positive, punishing the fuller deliveries outside off for fours and forcing the Sri Lankan captain to push cover back. Mushfiqur’s calm presence helped Ashraful as he neared his first Test century in more than four years. He found his timing with a couple of sweetly timed punches past cover in one over from Nuwan Kulasekara.
Ashraful entered the 90s with a forceful drive past cover point, but his nerves were apparent. He spent a fidgety 35 deliveries in the 90s before driving Mendis past cover to bring up his century. The relief was palpable as he roared and stretched his arms towards the dressing room, temporarily putting to rest the criticism he is so accustomed to.
Sri Lanka took the new ball after lunch but it didn’t change their fortunes. Mushfiqur whipped Kulasekara off the pads in the first over before Ashraful thrashed Angelo Mathews past cover for consecutive boundaries. A Mushfiqur cover drive brought up the century stand, the second of the innings.
The stand was highlighted by several such confident drives through the off side, and Mushfiqur also used his feet to Herath regularly, chipping down the track and smashing over the off side. Mendis wasn’t used as much as the senior Herath, but he too couldn’t maintain control, bowling a full toss to Mushfiqur that was clubbed over midwicket. Mushfiqur also entered the 90s with a boundary to third man just before tea. After playing out a full session the batsmen shook hands, acknowledging a job well done.
Scoreboard
SRI LANKA 1st innings 570/4d
BANGLADESH 1st innings
Mohammad Ashraful not out 189
Mominul Haque c Mathews b Kulasekara 55
Mahmudullah st †Chandimal b Herath 0
Mushfiqur Rahim*† not out 152
EXTRAS (b 2, lb 1, nb 6) 9
TOTAL 438
TO BAT Nasir Hossain, Abul Hasan, Sohag Gazi, Elias Sunny, Shahadat Hossain
FALL OF WICKETS 1-23 (Jahurul Islam, 7.5 ov), 2-65 (Anamul Haque, 23.6 ov), 3-170 (Mominul Haque, 52.3 ov), 4-177 (Mahmudullah, 53.6 ov)
BOWLING
KMDN Kulasekara 21-3-76-1, RMS Eranga 22-3-80-1, HMRKB Herath 42-9-103-1, BAW Mendis 23-2-92-1, AD Mathews 6-1-16-0, TM Dilshan 20-3-55-0, HDRL Thirimanne 2-0-13-0
Match details
Toss Sri Lanka, who chose to bat
Test debuts Anamul Haque and Mominul Haque (Bangladesh); KDK Vithanage (Sri Lanka)
Player of the match tba
Umpires RK Illingworth (England) and NJ Llong (England)
TV umpire TH Wijewardene
Match referee DC Boon (Australia)
Reserve umpire MSK Nandiweera