Azad Majumder. Chittagong
Vice-captain Mashrafee bin Murtaza scored a defiant half-century to help Bangladesh avoid the follow-on, but that was only just as the hosts were all out for 208 runs handing Sri Lanka a 176-run first innings lead on Sunday.
The visitors stretched their lead to 189 after ending the second day with 13-0 in their second innings to remain firmly in control of the game.
To avoid batting in successive innings, Bangladesh needed something special from Mashrafee after they had lost their ninth wicket for 145 runs, replying to Sri Lanka’s 384, leaving onus on last-wicket pair.
Mashrafee was successful eventually in protecting his partner Shahadat Hossain with utmost care and defying everything Sri Lanka threw at him for more than an hour to add 63 runs for the last wicket.
When Tillakaratne Dilshan caught Mashrafee at deep midwicket off Muttiah Muralitharan to end his third Test half-century at 63, Bangladesh were way beyond the follow-on mark of 185 runs.
Such was Mashrafee’s audacity that he struck Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan for two sixes in the space of three balls, albeit in different overs. Mendis and Muralitharan shared seven wickets between them to torment the Bangladeshi batsmen, but Mashrafee was an exception.
Muralitharan returned with three for 62 runs, but Ajantha Mendis was the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers claiming 4-71.
Chaminda Vaas removed both the openers Tamim Iqbal (0) and Imrul Kayes (6) and a full-toss ball from Dilhara Fernando uprooted the middle-stump of one-down Junaed Siddique, who made 28.
Mendis, playing his first Test away from home, began his haul with the wicket of Roqibul Hassan (0) before lunch and snapped up two more wickets in the second session when Mehrab Hossain (18) and Sakib al Hasan (0) were adjudged lbw off his successive deliveries.
His last victim was Bangladesh wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, stumped by Prasanna Jayawardene for 21 minutes after the tea break. Bangladesh were looking to get past the follow-on mark at least without any serious trouble when Mushfique was batting with skipper Mohammad Ashraful after Mendis had delivered the twin blow.
But having been unmindful of his team’s situation, Ashraful made a horrendous mistake when he attempted a reverse-sweep against Muralitharan only see the ball land in the safe hands of wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene, leaving Bangladesh limping at 122-7.
The Bangladesh captain had attempted the same shot against Muralitharan when he was close to his fifty and was beaten on every occasion. He finally paid the price ending his innings at 45.
Ashraful’s departure made the day entirely sour for the hosts after they had begun so promisingly mopping up the remaining four wickets of the visitors in just four overs. The tourists could add only 13 runs to their overnight 371 for six before they were all out.
Sakib triggered the collapse, trapping Chamara Kapugedera lbw in the sixth ball of the day after the batsman had added only three runs to his overnight 93.
Mashrafee removed the other overnight batsman Vaas with his first ball of the next over. Sakib dismissed Muttiah Muralitharan and Dilhara Fernando in successive balls to return with 4-109.
It was only the fourth time in the history of the game that six batsmen of a team have fallen victims to lbw in the first innings of a Test with West Indies being the last against India at Mohali in 1994.
Courtesy: newagebd.com
