Bangladesh endured a turbulent opening day in the second Test against Sri Lanka at the SSC in Colombo, finishing on 220 for 8 after a series of promising starts were squandered and rain caused nearly three hours of lost play.
Winning the toss and opting to bat first, Bangladesh were on the back foot early. Anamul Haque Bijoy fell for a duck in just the second over, castled by a sharp in-swinger from Asitha Fernando. Mominul Haque looked in decent touch but couldn’t convert his start, edging to slip off Dhananjaya de Silva after making 21 from 39 balls.
Post-lunch, Bangladesh’s innings unravelled further. Having shown signs of resistance, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Sadman Islam both departed in quick succession, leaving the visitors reeling under pressure. The middle order offered some resistance, but lapses in shot selection and Sri Lanka’s disciplined bowling ensured Bangladesh never took control.
Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das did stitch together a 46-run stand for the fourth wicket, playing the spinners with relative ease. Liton, who struck two boundaries and a six in his 34, survived a life when Prabath Jayasuriya dropped a return catch after being struck for four the previous delivery. But he couldn’t capitalise, falling in the very next over to debutant Sonal Dinusha—caught behind attempting an ambitious cut.
Mushfiqur too was guilty of a similar lapse. Dropped earlier on 8 by Lahiru Udara in the deep, the veteran eventually perished on 35 while trying to force Dinusha through the leg-side. The trap, set cleverly by Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya, worked perfectly—fielders packed in Mushfiq’s scoring zones, and the pull was caught at deep mid-wicket.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, returning to the XI after missing the first Test, added some crucial lower-order runs. He combined with Naeem Hasan for a 37-run stand off 56 deliveries, the pair helping Bangladesh cross the 200 mark. Miraz eventually fell for 31, nicking off to Vishwa Fernando.
Naeem played a gritty knock, scoring a valuable 25 off 51 balls before falling late in the day. Taijul Islam (6*) and Ebadot Hossain (4*) survived the final overs as bad light forced an early end, with 10 overs still remaining in the day.
In truth, most of Bangladesh’s batters got themselves in but failed to build meaningful innings—six of the top seven reached double figures but none passed 35. Sri Lanka’s bowlers maintained pressure throughout, with both seam and spin making timely breakthroughs.
Rain and fading light may have hampered proceedings, but Bangladesh will rue missed opportunities on a surface offering little for the bowlers once the shine wears off. They’ll hope for more application from the tail and sharper discipline with the bat in the coming days.