Bangladesh on back foot by end of Day 2

After only two days of the Colombo Test, Bangladesh finds itself in a difficult position. Following a poor batting performance, the Tigers were also ineffective with the ball against Sri Lanka. Their bowling lacked aggression, leaving them struggling throughout. On a day when the “Shanto Brigade” amassed a large number of runs, the home team secured a significant lead. By the close of the second day, Dhananjaya de Silva’s side was ahead by 43 runs in the first innings.

On Thursday morning, Ebadat Hossain, who was unbeaten the day before, was dismissed early. Taijul Islam tried to steady the innings but couldn’t last long either. Bangladesh’s first innings concluded at 247 runs. The rest of the day was dominated by Sri Lanka — after their bowling effort, they took control with the bat. The hosts are currently 290 runs for the loss of only two wickets, aiming to build a strong lead on the third day.

Bangladesh started the day with two wickets in hand and fought hard in the last two wickets, but couldn’t hold on for long. Early in the day, Bangladesh hoped to reach at least 270-280 runs, as opener Shadman Islam had suggested the day before. That target would have given the team a fighting chance on Colombo’s challenging pitch. But that did not happen. On this tricky pitch, the Shanto Brigade faced a heavy defeat. In that same Singhalese stadium, Pathum Nissanka and Dinesh Chandimal played confidently with the bat.

Najmul Hossain Shanto used six bowlers today, but none could make a significant impact. Taijul took one wicket and Nayeem Hasan took another. The two pacers, Ebadat and Nahid Rana, leaked many runs without creating many chances, which hurt Bangladesh. Chandimal and Nissanka gave a tough time to the bowlers. So far, Sri Lanka is scoring at 3.71 runs per over in their first innings.

None of the three sessions on the second day favored Bangladesh. It was a challenging day for the Tigers as Nissanka played a magnificent century. The Lankan batsman remains unbeaten on 146 runs. While Bangladesh celebrates 25 years of Test cricket at home, their team faces a tough situation in Colombo. So far, Sri Lanka has batted 78 overs, scoring 290 runs for the loss of 2 wickets, with Nissanka unbeaten on 146 and Prabath Jayasuriya on 5 not out.

In the first session, Sri Lanka scored 83 runs without losing any wicket in 21 overs. After the lunch break, Taijul dismissed Lahiru Udara (40 runs off 65 balls). Nissanka and Chandimal put together a 194-run partnership for the second wicket, giving Sri Lanka a solid lead. The partnership was finally broken by Nayeem Hasan. Chandimal missed out on his century, scoring 93 runs off 153 balls before getting out. After that, two more overs were bowled but Bangladesh could not take any wickets.

Bangladesh must quickly take wickets tomorrow, or they risk losing by an innings. To meet this challenge, both bowlers and batsmen need to be prepared for a tough fight.