Kaushal Silva had Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim and his luck to thank for his maiden Test century as Sri Lanka rode his innings to seize control in the first Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Tuesday. Silva, often described as a carbon-copy of legendary Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya, slammed 139 off 244 balls to guide Sri Lanka to 375-5 at the close of the second day’s play, with their first-innings lead surging to 143.
Bangladesh, already behind in the match after their ordinary batting on the opening day, had hoped to make a comeback with the ball, but Silva’s innings, which saw him enjoy as many as three lives and a lot of luck, ruined the hosts’ prospects of achieving that goal.
Al-Amin Hossain tested Silva repeatedly with his pace and created three chances before the batsman completed his fifty, but the Tigers could grab none of them because of their sloppy fielding and some misfortune.
Mushfiq was the chief culprit, grassing an easy chance when Silva was on 39. He completed a catch perfectly in the next over but was left flabbergasted when the third umpire reprieved the batsman for a no-ball.
Al-Amin’s backfoot hit the stumps in his follow through to dislodge the bail, prompting the umpire to ask for a replay, which confirmed the incident. This was the first time Bangladesh had fallen victim to the rule since the International Cricket Council introduced it in April last year.
Previously, when the non-striker’s end stumps were broken in the delivery stride, a dead-ball was called regardless of the outcome of the delivery, following an initial warning.
The change was prompted by England bowler Steven Finn, who repeatedly broke the non-striker’s end stumps against South Africa in 2012.
Al-Amin’s misery was not to be ended soon, as Shamsur Rahman dropped the batsman at gully two overs later with his score on 42. Silva struck Sohag Gazi for a six and four in an over to shrug off his nervousness and complete his fifty, demoralising Bangladesh further.
Sakib al Hasan lifted the side’s morale somewhat when he had Dimuth Karunaratne caught by Robiul Islam at short cover for 53, ending his 118-run opening stand with Silva. However, the 27-year old right-hander teamed up with Kumar Sangakkara to add 155 runs for the second wicket, piling more misery on Bangladesh.
Just when it looked like the Tigers would have no choice but to wait painfully for a Sri Lankan declaration, Al-Amin forced an edge from Sangakkara (75) for Nasir Hossain to take on his third attempt at slip.
Mushfiq dropped Silva for the second time in the game on 129 off Sakib, and the batsman threatened to make Bangladesh pay, hoisting the next ball for six over long on. A boundary followed soon after, leaving Bangladesh to wonder what went wrong with the fielding and the bowling.
But Sakib, generally a cool customer, had the last laugh of the eventful over, trapping Silva lbw on the fifth ball. Sakib later bowled Dinesh Chandimal to finish the day with 3-94 before Sohag Gazi brought a happy ending to an insipid day, dismissing night-watchman Suranga Lakmal for a duck.
However, with Mahela Jayawardene at crease unbeaten on 42 and an in-form Angelo Mathews yet to come, Sri Lanka have little to worry about and will resume on the third day looking to build on the score they have already compiled.
Brief scores
Stumps, Day 2
Sri Lanka 1st innings 375-5 in 108.2 overs (K Silva 139, K Sangakkara 73, D Karunaratne 53, M Jayawardene 42 not out, D Chandimal 40; Sakib 3-94) v Bangladesh 1st innings 232 in 63.5 overs (Mushfiq 61, Sakib 55, Gazi 42; S Eranga 4-49, S Lakmal 3-66).
-With New Age input
