Just two days ago, Bangladesh celebrated the silver jubilee of earning Test status. On that same day, while there was a touch of festivity in Mirpur, Najmul Hossain Shanto and his team were struggling in Colombo against Sri Lanka. Even after 25 years, Bangladesh’s red-ball cricket still showed glimpses of its early days—where surviving was seen as a moral victory more than winning. Avoiding an innings defeat felt like a relief. But this time, even that remained a distant dream for Litton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto. Bangladesh were bowled out for 133 in the second Test in Colombo and lost by an innings and 78 runs. With that, they also lost the two-match Test series 1-0. On day three, Bangladesh ended play at 115 for 6 in response to Sri Lanka’s 211-run lead. Any hope of winning was already gone. Still, there was a bit of expectation that the 95-run deficit might be overcome on the fourth day with Litton Das starting the proceedings.
But it was Litton who triggered the morning collapse. Sri Lanka’s spinners needed exactly 25 minutes to clean up the remaining four wickets. Prabath Jayasuriya wrapped up the innings in just 34 deliveries and Tharindu Ratnayake took the final wicket. This was Bangladesh’s ninth innings defeat against Sri Lanka in Tests, and it was the second innings that truly slipped away. Even then, the pitch at Sinhalese Sports Club behaved like a proper batting track.
Sri Lanka’s batters fully capitalized on the flat surface. In response to Bangladesh’s first-innings score of 227, Pathum Nissanka’s century, Dinesh Chandimal’s 93, and Kamindu Mendis’ 84 took Sri Lanka to 458. Even a lead of 211 might not have felt so daunting had the Colombo pitch started turning from the third day. That’s what cost Bangladesh. Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, who had been quiet the entire series, came alive in the third innings. He picked up five wickets in an innings for the 12th time in his career.