Sri Lanka dominated the opening day of the second and final Test against Bangladesh, riding on strong contributions from their top three batters.
No.3 Kusal Mendis struck 93, Dimuth Karunaratne hit 86 and his fellow opener Nishan Madushka scored 57 as the visitors reached 314/4 at stumps on Saturday.
Bangladesh’s star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, whose last international match was at the 2023 World Cup in India, returned figures of 1/60 in 18 overs. Dinesh Chandimal (34 batting) and captain Dhananjaya de Silva (15 batting) will resume the proceedings on Sunday.
De Silva hit centuries in both innings of the first Test, which Sri Lanka won by 328 runs. Bangladesh pacer Hasan Mahmud claimed 2/64 on his Test debut.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Sri Lanka made a fluent start but Bangladesh wasted chances too. Madushka was dropped on nine when Mahmudul
Hasan put down a straightforward chance off Mahmud at second slip.
Karunaratne was also lucky to survive when he top-edged Mahmud’s delivery, but Shakib fumbled the ball over the boundary line to give the batter a six.
Madushka reached his second Test fifty off 80 balls when he punched off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz to mid-off for a single. But just after his half-century, he was run out, ending a 96-run opening stand with Karunaratne.
Karunaratne raised his 37th Test half-century off 93 balls. He and Kusal further frustrated Bangladesh’s bowlers, sharing 114 for the second wicket.
Mahmud finally got the better of Karunaratne for his first Test wicket when the latter dragged a length delivery back onto his stumps.
Mendis, who brought up his 18th Test fifty off 87 balls, appeared to be heading toward his 10th century. However, after sharing 53 runs with Angelo Mathews, Mendis was baffled by the turn that Shakib extracted from the pitch. Mendis hit 11 fours and a six in his innings.
Mahmud dismissed Mathews for 23 when he got the outside edge of the bat. De Silva and Chandimal then steered the side past 300.
Sri Lanka made one change from the first Test with Asitha Fernando replacing the injured Kasun Rajitha, who took eight wickets in the opener.
Shakib and Mahmud — who played 39 white-ball matches for Bangladesh before making his Test debut here — replaced fast bowlers Nahid Rana and Shoriful Islam, respectively.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 314/4 (K. Mendis 93, D. Karunaratne 86; H. Mahmud 2/64) vs Bangladesh. At stumps, Day 1.