Spinners put Sri Lanka on verge of series sweep

Sri Lanka continued their march toward a 2-0 series victory on day four, taking seven Bangladesh wickets, as they encountered only pockets of resistance from the opposition. Mominul Haque crossed fifty as Bangladesh strove to bat out almost five-and-a-half sessions to save the match, or hit the record 511 runs they needed to win. Mehidy Hasan Miraz was unbeaten at stumps, but no one else crossed 40 and their biggest partnership was the 61 Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan put on for the fifth wicket.

Spin became a significant weapon for Sri Lanka for the first time in the series, though the Chattogram surface was not taking massive turn yet. It was also not providing substantial seam movement, or pace, or carry, or reverse swing, which the seamers went looking for late in the day. The key for Sri Lanka, largely, was to stay patient and to continue posing various questions of the Bangladesh batters.

With so many runs to defend, Dhananjaya de Silva had no qualms keeping catchers in close, and trying unusual lines of attack. The Bangladesh batters could be relied on to eventually succumb. No one lasted more than 74 balls.

Prabath Jayasuriya bowled 20 overs and took 2 for 79. Lahiru Kumara also claimed two, and Vishwa Fernando got the wicket of Zakir Hasan, who’d hit a fifty in the first dig. The surprise for Sri Lanka was the two wickets taken by Kamindu Mendis who gleaned more turn – if less artfully – than the more experienced spinners (de Silva also sent down seven overs). Kamindu can also bowl left-arm spin, but stuck to offbreaks on this occasion, claiming Shakib as his first Test victim, before also getting Shahadat Hossain out lbw to finish the day with 2 for 22.

Earlier in the day, Angelo Mathews had become the last of Sri Lanka’s batters to cross fifty in this match, with the others in the top seven having done so in the first innings. He was out to a spectacular delivery from Shakib, who did not celebrate with notable vigour despite the “timed out” history between the two. Sri Lanka just batted till their lead had breached 500, and gave Bangladesh the last 40 minutes before lunch to see out, which they did unscathed, though the wickets would start falling soon after.

Scores:
Bangladesh 178 in 68.4 overs (Zakir Hasan 54; Asitha Fernando 4-34) and 268 for 7 in 67 overs (Monimul Haq 50; Kamindu Mendis 2-22) trail  Sri Lanka 531 in 159 overs (Kusal Mendis 93, Kamindu Mendis 92*; Shakib Al Hasan 3-110) and 137 for 7 dec in 40 overs (Angelo Mathews 56; Hasan Mahmud 4-65) by 242 runs