Rex Clementine
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2nd Test: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh at Colombo, 06-10 Sep 2001 Rex Clementine |
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Sri Lanka 1st innings:
Pre-game: Bangladesh 1st innings: |
Jayasuriya started after tea like he wanted to break Viv Richards 56-ball record for a Test century and flogged Hasibul Hossain for 17 runs in the second over after the interval.
Sensibly, however, Bangladesh captain Naimur Rahman decided to try his off spinners. The change in pace did the trick as Jayasuriya was trapped leg-before wicket for 89, which had been scored off 89 balls and had included 11 fours and four sixes.
Sri Lanka were 144 for one
Rahman continued to bowl his flat off breaks tightly, denying the Sri Lankan batsmen easy scoring deliveries. The run rate dropped.
Atapattu eventually reached his fifty off 81 balls with a on drive for four.
Sri Lanka’s 150 came up in the 24th over. The third fifty had come in 65 balls, which snail-like in comparison to the second fifty which was scored off just 22 balls.
Rahman nearly struck a second blow when Mehrab Hossain dropped Atapattu at first slip when he had scored 56.
Sri Lanka raced to 114 without loss after just 15 overs before tea. Marvan Atapattu made an unbeaten 40, whilst Jayasuriya thrashed his way to 67 off 43 balls. The Sri Lankan captain hit seven fours and four sixes.
When the Sri Lankan innings Atapattu started aggressively, hitting three boundaries in the very first over.
The home team’s 50 runs came in 9.3 overs and 41 minutes with Atapattu on 26 and Jayasuriya on 23.
Jayasuriya then raised the tempo.
In Manjural Islam’s sixth over he smashed the bowler’s last three deliveries for 16 runs. The fourth ball was cut to the deep point boundary and the fifth and the sixth were smashed for six over square cover.
Jayasuriya reached his 17th Test fifty when he pulled Hossain for a six over midwicket. The Sri Lankan captain’s 50 came in just 35 deliveries and 57 minutes with three sixes and seven fours.
Sri Lanka’s 100 runs came in the 14th over. They had required just 22 balls to score their second 50.
Sri Lanka now have a 24 run first innings lead with all their first innings wickets in hand.
Their previous lowest score was 91 against India in the second innings of their Inaugural Test in Dhaka.
The lion’s share of the damage was inflicted by off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan (9.4-4-14-5), who picked up his 27th five-wicket haul of his Test career. His now got 345 Test wickets.
Chaminda Vaas chipped in with three wickets.
Straight after lunch tail ender Hasibul Hossain tried an ambitious lofted drive against Muralitharan and was clean bowled. Hossain had scored just and the tourists were 67 for eight.
Muralitharan could have picked up another wicket in the same over if he had taken a return catch offered by Mohammad Sharif.
The miss didn’t prove costly, however, as Chaminda Vaas soon had the tail ender caught at second slip by Michael Vandort. Sharif had made just one run in eight balls.
With most of the senior batsmen failing to provide the goods 16 year-old debutante Mohammad Ashraful showed some fight. He added 18 runs for the last wicket with Manjural Islam and smashed Vaas for three boundaries in one over.
His innings ended when he attempted to pull Muralitharan only to be caught by skipper Sanath Jayasuriya at short mid-wicket. He had made 26, the highest score in the Bangladeshi innings.
Muralitharan took up the bowling in the 19th over of the morning from the Press Box End.
The Bangladeshi batsmen started positively against the master spinner when opener Mehrab Hussain swept the off-spinner’s last ball of the first over for four to bring up Bangladesh’s 50.
Muralitharan, however, struck in his next over when he dismissed Al Shahriar for 16 with a cleverly disguised straighter delivery. The batsman played forward and got an outside edge and Kumar Sangakkara took his second catch of the morning.
He had made 16 in 32 balls with two fours.
Bangladesh lost their fifth wicket of the morning when Mehrab was run out. The opener worked the ball into the on side and set off for a quick single, but his captain Naimur Rahman sent him back. He was left stranded by Marvan Atapattu’s throw.
Hussain had scored 23 in 64 balls with two fours and the tourists were 58 for five.
Then, just before lunch, Muttiah Muralitharan clean bowled skipper Naimur Rahman and deputy skipper Khaled Mashud for ducks within the space of three balls to leave the visitors precariously placed on 61 for seven at lunch.
Chaminda Vaas, swinging the new ball through the air, broke through in his third over of the day, as opening batsman Javed Omar played inside the line of a straight delivery and edged a simple catch to Sanath Jayasuriya at first slip.
Javed had scored seven runs in 16 balls and Bangladesh were 10 for one.
Vaas bowled well right throughout the morning session and he was rewarded with a second wicket when Habibul Bashar was clean bowled. The 29 year-old right handed batsman, who averages 47.7 in Test cricket and has scored four fifties, played a half hearted back foot drive without using his feet and was clean bowled.
He made four in six balls and the tourists were 16 for two.
Ravindra Pushpakumara playing his first Test after a lay off of more than one year could then have taken the wicket of Mehrab Hossain if Hashan Tillakaratne had held on to a difficult chance in the gully in the next over.
Ruchira Perera then replaced Pushpakumara (5-3-7-0) in the seventh over of the morning and claimed the prize scalp of Aminul Islam with his very first ball.
The 32-year-old right-hand batsman, who captained Bangladesh in the 1999 World Cup, tried to cut a short delivery that was too close to his body and he was caught behind by wicket keeper Kumar Sangakkara for six.
The players then took drinks.
This is the second match of the Asian Test Championship and Sri Lanka’s first of the tournament.
Left handed batsman Michael Vandort makes his debut for Sri Lanka in place of Russel Arnold, who has scored just two fifties in his last 24 Test innings.
The home team also decided to rest fast bowler Dilhara Fernando, who is nursing a groin strain.
Right arm fast bowler Ravindra Pushpakumara has therefore earned a controversial recall.
Left arm fast bowler Ruchira Perera has come in the place of Dulip Liyanage.
For Bangladesh, 16-year-old Mohammed Ashraful makes his debut at the expense of left arm spinner Enamul Haque.
Right-handed batsman Al Shahriar comes in place of former captain Akram Khan.
Sri Lanka team:
Sanath Jayasuriya (Capt), Marvan Atapattu, Michael Vandort, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Hashan Tillakaratne, Thilan Samaraweera, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ravindra Pushpakumara, Ruchira Perera, Russel Arnold (12th man)
Bangladesh squad:
Naimur Rahman (Capt), Javed Omar, Mehrab Hossain, Habibul Bashar, Aminul Islam, Khaled Mashud (wk), Hasibul Hossain, Mohammad Sharif, Monjural Islam, Al Shahriar, Mohammad Ashraful, Ranjan Das (12th Man)
Umpires: MM Aslam and RE Koertzen
Match referee: John Reid
© CricInfo
Date-stamped : 07 Sep2001 - 06:32