Two weak bowling sides: High scoring series in the offing

 Sri Lanka’s new head coach Chris Silverwood in conversation with Sri Lankan cricketers ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh at Chattogram

• Sri Lanka v Bangladesh Tests commence tomorrow

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

From the looks of it the two-match Test series between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh beginning at Chattogram (Chittagong) and the one to follow at Mirpur in the capital of Dhaka are going to be high scoring games with neither team possessing the bowling strength to dismiss the other twice.

Sri Lanka’s fast bowling strength has been undermined by the retirement of their most trusted bowler Suranga Lakmal while Bangladesh’s firepower has been diminished by injuries to their key bowlers like Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam and their leading spinner Mehidy Hasan. A question mark also hangs over the availability of their celebrated all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.

Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne is of the view that the absence of Lakmal has created a chance for a youngster to put up his hand and establish himself. “There is a good competition for fast bowling places amongst Vishwa (Fernando), Kasun (Rajitha) and Asitha Fernando for the first Test which is quite a healthy sign.”

Despite the intermittent rains they have experienced at Chattogram, venue of the first Test starting tomorrow, Karunaratne considers the wicket would be more in favour of the batsmen.

“If you take the Chittagong wicket where I have played 3 Tests on, all of them have ended in high scoring draws. The last match we played there, more than 1500 runs were scored on it. It looks like a track that will not assist spin,” said Karunaratne in a virtual press conference from Chattogram yesterday. 

“If you look at both sides I think we have a much stronger batting line up. I hope the batsmen will do what is required of them and give us a total to play for a win. We will try to find a combination during the match to suit the wicket. Dhaka (venue of second Test) is a spin friendly track and there is a chance of getting a result there. We will see in the first Test how well we can form a combination that can take 20 wickets before we go to Dhaka.”

Karunaratne said that despite the absence of some of their key players Bangladesh was still a good side. “Shakib has once again returned to the squad and if you take the side that played us on the last occasion only Mehidy Hasan and Taskin Ahmed are missing. We cannot underestimate Bangladesh, it is a big challenge for us. They play well in their home conditions and we will have to work hard to win a match.”

Because of the unusual rain pattern Karunaratne said that he expected the game to be interrupted by rain over the five days. “The rain is not within our control. We are looking at taking it session by session and see how we can win.”

Oshada Fernando who forced himself into the Test squad with some prolific scores in the National Super League four-day tournament for champions Kandy is likely to be Karunaratne’s opening partner in the absence of Lahiru Thirimanne who was dropped for the tour. The pair have opened before in four Tests and produced two partnerships of 96 and 94 with Fernando having scored his solitary Test century in one of them.

Sri Lanka have put off finalising their eleven for the first Test until today because the preparation of the wicket for the Test has been somewhat delayed due to the rains. “The wicket can change due to the weather so we will have a look at it tomorrow before finalising our eleven.”

The two Tests are part of the ICC World Test Championships. Sri Lanka are currently placed fifth with 24 points at the completion of two series, and Bangladesh eighth with 12 points after three series.