Lankans out to prove their dominance

Chris Dhambarage reporting from Bangladesh

CRICKET: Sri Lanka will be hoping to further extend their dominance over Bangladesh when the two Asian teams clash in the second and final test match at the Chandu Shaheed Stadium in Bogra here Wednesday.

The Lankans are already one up in the series having notched up a comprehensive eight wicket victory over the hosts in the first test played at the Divisional Stadium in Chittagong last week. But skipper Mahela Jayawardena is expecting a tough contest this time after his team struggled a little bit during the first two days of the first test.

Jayawardena feels that it is important to apply the pressure during the first two days and gain a psychological advantage before starting to dominate the game. Sri Lanka are determined not to make the same mistake twice as they did in the first test where they allowed Bangladesh to pile up over three hundred runs in the first day.

Jayawardena said that "the toss could be a vital one as there will be some early moisture which will be really helpful to the bowlers". In fact Jayawardena is yet to win a toss in this series so far and is hoping that at least he will be fortunate in the second and final test. The Lankans are not willing to experiment and they are likely to go in with the same winning combination that performed in Chittagong.

"We are quite aware that Bangladesh will be firing at us hard again and the team should focus completely on the game plan. We all know what we have to perform and we know that we cannot take Bangladesh very lightly. There are a number of areas where the team can improve and it is essential that we do that. We must also make sure that we put them under a lot of pressure in the first two days. We are looking to put together a very good performance."

The one reason is of course that they are expecting Bangladesh to bounce back in this match and also to gain some confidence ahead of the home series against Pakistan.

In addition ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is approaching another milestone in his illustrious career and is just seven wickets short of becoming only the second player to complete six hundred wickets in test cricket.

The record is of course held by the Australian leg spinner Shane Warne. But this series in particular has been a fantastic one for Muralitharan who last week completed one thousand wickets in both tests and one day internationals.

Muralitharan is expected to spearhead the Sri Lankan attack along with Malinga Bandara on a wicket that is expected to take a great amount of turn.

Incidentally this will be another historic moment for Bangladesh cricket as they will be playing their inaugural test match at this venue situated towards North of the country and nearly 230 kilo metres away from the capital Dhaka. In addition this has been a happy hunting ground for Bangladesh and it was here that they defeated Sri Lanka in the second one day international to level the series 1-1.

Bangladesh in fact have made one change to their side while bringing in their under 19 captain and promising all rounder Mushfiqur Rahim in place of Alok Kapali. But they are certainly looking at an overall improvement in the side and are also to redeem some of their lost prestige.

The teams:

Sri Lanka (from): Mahela Jayawardena (captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Upul Tharanga, Michael Vandort, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Prasanna Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan, Malinga Bandara, Farveez Maharoof, Dammika Prasad, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Thilan Samaraweera, Sajeewa Weerakoon.

Bangladesh (from): Habibul Bashar, Khaled Mashud, Shahriar Nafees, Javed Omar, Nafees Iqbal, Mohammad Ashraful, Alok Kapali Rajin Saleh, Aftab Ahmed, Mohammad Rafique, Enamul Haque jnr, Mushfiqur Rahim, Syed Rasel, Tapash Baisya. Bogra Bangladesh, Tuesday