Bangladesh believed they fell 60 runs short due to the slow outfield at the R Premadasa Stadium. The visitors were bowled out for 240 on a wicket that did not hold its reputation as seamer-friendly, as was predicted ahead of the second Test.
“The outfield is not good, we couldn’t get around 60 runs,” Mominul Haque said at the press conference. “If the outfield was good, our score could have been 300-320. The outfield is not in our control. It was hard work to run a lot in the heat.
“We probably didn’t read the wicket correctly. The ball came normally on to the bat. There wasn’t any extra bounce from the fast bowlers.”
Match referee David Boon has directed the curator to keep the length of the grass identical for the rest of the Test match. There has not been any official complaint from either team so far.
Despite the slow outfield, Mominul top scored with 64 off 98 deliveries so perhaps his view on the wicket would vary from the rest of the batting order. They struggled to put together the same effort as they did in Galle, where they racked up 638, lacking in confidence, as it was certain from the first over itself that boundaries would be hard to come by.
Bangladesh were 62 for 2 in the first session but as soon as Rangana Herath settled into a good rhythm, they lost three wickets in the middle session to be 155 for 5 at tea. They scored another 85 runs in the final session but lost their last five wickets.
The approach at the beginning was cautious but it somehow translated into a poor second session and ultimately the side getting bowled out on the first day. Mominul said the first hour belonged to the bowlers here but conditions eased out.
“The first hour is difficult in any conditions,” he said. “Our plan was to survive the first hour so we tried doing it. The wicket eased up in the second session, and it’s still good. I enjoyed batting out there, the ball was coming nicely on to the bat.”
