Bangladesh’s batting on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka followed a frustratingly familiar script. Several batters got in, looked settled, and then threw their wickets away while attempting aggressive strokes—ultimately leaving the side on the back foot once again.
Barring Nayeem Hasan, who was dismissed late in the day, most of the wickets fell due to poor shot selection. The top and middle order batters perished playing expansive strokes, trying to push the scoring along but failing in execution.
Opening batter Shadman Islam, who looked fluent early on and seemed poised for a half-century, was one of the day’s many disappointments. He was dismissed for 46, driving at a wide delivery well outside the off stump, which flew via the wicketkeeper’s gloves into the hands of Dhananjaya de Silva at slip. Shadman faced 93 balls and hit six boundaries before falling.
Speaking at the end-of-day press conference, Shadman defended the team’s approach but admitted that the execution may have been flawed. “If you don’t play shots, there won’t be any runs,” he said plainly, adding, “Some of the shots may have been wrong, but that’s part of the game.”
Bangladesh ended the day on 220 for 8—underwhelming on what appeared to be a decent batting surface. Several players got starts but failed to convert. Mushfiqur Rahim made 35 off 75 balls, Litton Das added 34 from 56, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz chipped in with a run-a-ball 31. Each fell after doing the hard work of settling in.
Shadman, reflecting on the string of dismissals, said the batters were not under any particular pressure from the Sri Lankan bowlers. “I wouldn’t say there was pressure,” he noted. “Maybe some of the shots were poor decisions. But shot-making is part of cricket. Without it, you can’t build a score.”
The left-hander also pointed to the contrast with the Galle Test, where Bangladesh posted 495 and 285 for 6 in the two innings. He himself had scored 76 in the second innings of that match. “In Galle we played some good shots and many of them went for boundaries. Today, unfortunately, the luck wasn’t with us. Maybe it just wasn’t our day,” he concluded.
Despite the day’s underwhelming showing, Shadman remained hopeful for a better second innings performance, promising that the team would look to “come back strongly”.
Score Summary (Day 1):
Bangladesh 1st Innings – 220/8 (71 overs)
Top scorers:
- Shadman Islam – 46 (93 balls)
- Mushfiqur Rahim – 35 (75)
- Litton Das – 34 (56)
- Mehidy Hasan Miraz – 31 (42)
Fall of wickets: Mostly due to attacking shots that didn’t come off, leaving Bangladesh to rue missed opportunities on a day that could’ve yielded far more.