Bangladesh salvage honour in Test defeat
Bangladesh put on one of their best batting performances before
suffering a 107-run defeat in the opening Test against Sri Lanka
Wednesday.
Chasing an unlikely 521-run target, the plucky Bangladesh batsmen
were bowled out for 413 on the fifth and final afternoon after skipper
Mohammad Ashraful’s brilliant 101 and man-of-the-match Shakib Al Hasan’s
career-best 96.
It was Bangladesh’s fourth-highest total in 58 Tests and 11th-best
fourth-innings performance in the history of the game.
Only four teams — the West Indies, South Africa, India and Australia
— have won a Test after chasing more than 400 in the fourth innings. Sri
Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan finished the Test with 10-190,
his 22nd haul of 10 or more wickets in a match. Sri Lanka struggled for
wickets for more than a session as Ashraful, Hasan and wicket-keeper
Mushfiqur Rahim (61) all applied themselves remarkably well on a wearing
fifth-day track.
The hosts called the shots in the morning session, adding 119 to
their overnight total of 254-5 for the loss of just one wicket. Ashraful,
on 70 overnight, continued to defy the Sri Lankan attack with a wide
range of strokes, reaching his hundred with a lofted drive over mid-off
for a four off veteran left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas.
Vaas, however, soon got a big wicket when he trapped Ashraful
leg-before in his opening spell with the second new ball, but not before
the Bangladeshi captain had added 112 for the sixth wicket with Hasan.
Ashraful smashed 16 fours in his fifth Test hundred — his fourth
against Sri Lanka.
There was no respite for the visitors after Ashraful’s dismissal as
Hasan and Rahim continued to do the good work, adding 111 for the
seventh wicket to give their rivals many anxious moments. Sri Lanka
breathed a sigh of relief when Hasan fell just four runs short of his
maiden Test hundred, inside-edging seamer Dammika Prasad’s delivery on
to his stumps. He hit seven fours in his 212-ball knock.
Rahim was the ninth man out, caught at mid-wicket by Tillakaratne
Dilshan off Muralitharan after hitting seven fours in his fourth Test
half-century.
The second and final Test starts in Chittagong on January 3. DHAKA,
2008 AFP
Sri Lanka
first innings 293
(T. Samaraweera 90; S. Hasan 5-70).
Bangladesh
first innings 178
(M. Muralitharan 6-49)
Sri Lanka
second innings 405-6 dec (Mahela Jayawardene 166,
Kumar Sangakkara 67, Thilan Samaraweera 62)
Bangladesh
second innings (overnight 254-5)
T. Iqbal c P. Jayawardene b Prasad 47
I. Kayes run out 13
Z. Siddique c M. Jayawardene b Muralitharan 37
R. Hassan b Muralitharan 24
M. Ashraful lbw Vaas 101
M. Hossain c sub (Kapugedera) b Muralitharan 23
S. Hasan b Prasad 96
M. Rahim c Dilshan b Muralitharan 61
M. Mortaza c P. Jayawardene b Prasad 2
M. Alam run out 2
S. Hossain not out 0
Extras (lb-3, nb-4) 7
Total (all out, 126.2 overs) 413
Fall of wickets: 1-40 2-72 3-124 4-144 5-180 6-292 7-403
8-409 9-411
Bowling: Vaas 25-5-74-1(nb-2), Prasad 25.2-5-105-3 (nb-1),
Muralitharan 48-9-141-4, Herath 26-4-86-0 (nb-1), Dilshan
2-0-4-0. |