Dhananjaya, Kamindu rescue Sri Lanka after disastrous start in first Test

Dhananjaya de Silva who played a captain’s knock celebrates his century Kamindu Mendis exults after reaching his maiden Test century

• Score centuries and figure in record double century partnership
• Bangladesh struggling at 32 for 3 in response to Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 280

A record double century stand by skipper Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis who both made hundreds saw Sri Lanka recover from a disastrous start of 57-5 and post a decent first day total of 280 in the first cricket Test against Bangladesh at Sylhet Friday.

By stumps Sri Lanka had grabbed back the initiative by capturing three Bangladeshi wickets for 32 through their opening bowlers Vishwa Fernando and Kasun Rajitha. Bangladesh trail Sri Lanka by 248 runs. 

Invited to bat first under overcast conditions Sri Lanka were in dire straits at the end of the first session when they lost half the side for 57 to be 92-5 at lunch. Bangladesh bowlers made full use of the conditions with the ball moving around and the bowlers getting extra bounce from the surface. Debutant fast bowler Nahid Rana made life difficult for the Lankan batters with his extra pace and bounce.

The damage to the Sri Lankan top order was done by fast bowler Khaled Ahmed who picked up the first three wickets after they were 40-1 at one stage. Nishan Madushka perished for two as early as the second over of the match edging a head high catch to third slip.

Kusal Mendis lived a charmed life in the initial part of his innings during which period he passed 4000 Test runs in his 62nd Test. But he didn’t last long. Caught in two minds, he offered a simple catch to gully to give Khaled his second wicket inside the first hour’s play. Khaled picked up his third scalp when he drew Dimuth Karunaratne into the drive and bowled him through the gate off stump for 17.

Sri Lanka put themselves in further trouble when the experienced Angelo Mathews was run out by a direct throw from Najmul Hossain from mid-off, responding to a sharp single call from Dinesh Chandimal. It was not a wicket that Sri Lanka wanted to lose at that stage of the innings. Chandimal himself was dismissed ten runs later falling to the leg-trap set for him glancing Shoriful Islam to Mehidy Hasan at leg slip. It was a perfect session for Bangladesh and fully justified skipper Najmul Hossain’s decision to field first.

Bangladesh could have had a sixth Sri Lankan wicket in the first session if Hasan Joy didn’t spill a catch at second slip offered by Kamindu Mendis before he had scored. Making full use of that lapse Mendis went onto score his maiden Test hundred helping his captain De Silva in a record breaking sixth wicket partnership of 202 to beat the previous best of 199 runs put together by Mathews and Chandimal at Mirpur in 2022.

De Silva and Mendis didn’t give any chance to the opposition as they dominated the afternoon batting right through adding 125 and picking up some easy runs as the bowlers failed to maintain the discipline they displayed in the first session. Both batsmen reached their respective centuries with boundaries. Mendis his first off 126 balls with his 11th four to add to his three sixes, and De Silva three balls later his 15th in Tests off 102 balls with his 12th boundary in addition to one six.

Both of them didn’t last long after reaching their personal milestones being dismissed 13 balls from each other. Mendis offered a catch behind the wicket to a shot that he had earlier dropped off, and De Silva got a top edge to a pull and was caught at deep backward square leg. Nahid took both wickets and added a third by having Prabath Jayasuriya caught behind for one.

Bangladesh bowlers came back strongly in the final session to capture the remaining five Lanka wickets for 63 runs as they wrapped up the innings for 280, a figure which the visitors hardly looked like achieving at lunch.