Sri Lanka secure 211-lead over Bangladesh in 1st Test

Sylhet : A half-century by Dimuth Karunaratne helped Sri Lanka secure a 211-run lead at the end of day two of the first Test against Bangladesh at Sylhet on Saturday.

Sri Lanka ended the day at 119/5, with Dhananjay de Silva (23*) and Vishwa Fernando (2*) unbeaten.

Bangladesh started day two on 32/3, with Mahmudul Hasan Joy 9*, Taijul Islam 0* unbeaten.

Bangladesh reached the 50-run mark in 15 overs.

Lahiru Kumara struck for Sri Lanka, removing Joy for 12 in 46 balls and Shahadat Hossain for 18 in 26 balls with three fours, reducing Bangladesh to 83/5 in 22 overs.

Litton Das and Islam helped Bangladesh cross the 100-run mark in 28.3 overs. Kumara cleaned up Litton's stumps for 25 in 43 balls, with four boundaries. Bangladesh was 124/6 in 34.4 overs.

Taijul was denied his half-century, caught behind by wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis on a ball by Kasun Rajitha, for 47 in 80 balls, with six fours. Bangladesh was 140/7 in 39.2 overs.

The lower-order could not put up a lot of fight and Bangladesh was bundled out for 188 runs in 51.3 overs in reply to SL's first-inning total of 280 runs. Bangladesh was trailing by 92 runs.

Vishwa Fernando (4/48) and Kumara (3/31) were the top bowlers for Sri Lanka.

Coming into their second innings, Sri Lanka was off to a rough start, losing Nishan Madushanka (10) and Kusal (3) to Nahid Rana. They were reduced to 32/2 in 11.3 overs.

Sri Lanka crossed the 50-run mark in 16 overs.

All-rounder Angelo Matthews looked strong at the other end, however, Taijul got him caught behind by Litton for 22 in 24 balls, with three fours. Dinesh Chandimal was trapped by Mehidy Hasan Miraz for a duck. Sri Lanka were 64/4 in 19.1 overs.

Opener Dimuth Karunaratne and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva guided Sri Lanka to the 100-run mark in 28 overs.

Dimuth reached his half-century in 98 balls, with seven fours and a six. Soon, Shoriful Islam had him caught by Nahid at the fine leg following a short ball. The former skipper was dismissed for 52 in 101 balls, with seven fours and a six. SL lost half their line up for 113 runs.

Sri Lanka ended the day with a lead of 211 runs.

Brief Scores: Bangladesh: 188 (Taijul Islam 47, Litton Das 25, Vishwa Fernando 4/48) vs Sri Lanka: 280 and 119/5 (Dimuth Karunaratne 52, Dhanajay de Silva 23*, Nahid Rana 2/42).