Upbeat Bangladesh look to scare Sri Lanka again
Bangladesh hope to continue the promise they showed in the first Test
against Sri Lanka when the second match starts here on Saturday.
The hosts gave the formidable Sri Lankans a fright in the Dhaka Test
when chasing an improbable target of 521, scoring a creditable 413
before falling 107 runs short.
Skipper Mohammad Ashraful's 101 and Shakib Al Hasan's 96 on a wearing
wicket helped Bangladesh record the 11th-best fourth-innings total by
any team in the history of the game.
Sri Lanka won the Test for a 1-0 lead in the two-match series due to
spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan's 10-190 - his 22nd haul of 10 or more
wickets in a match.
Ashraful was confident of another good showing by his under-rated
nation, which has lost 51 of its 58 Tests so far, with six draws and a
lone victory against lowly Zimbabwe.
"This is the first match of the new year and we want to play good
cricket and start afresh on a positive note," he said.
Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene, who hit a match-winning 166 at
Dhaka, goes into his 100th Test match needing just 74 runs to cross the
8,000-run milestone.
"There is no pressure on me because of these records," said the
31-year-old, who is already Sri Lanka's highest run scorer in Tests.
"I am just proud to have played for my country for so long.
"We are focused on beating Bangladesh here and win the series 2-0.
They played very well in Dhaka and I expect they will fight hard here as
well."
The Test series will be followed by a triangular one-day tournament
in Dhaka from January 10 with Zimbabwe as the third team.
Sri Lanka (from): Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Malinda Warnapura,
Michael Vandort, Kumar Sangakkara, Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne
Dilshan, Prasanna Jayawardene, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan,
Rangana Herath, Dammika Prasad, Chamara Kapugedera, Farveez Maharoof,
Dilhara Fernando, Thilan Thushara, Ajantha Mendis.
Bangladesh (from): Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim
Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Imrul Kayes, Raqibul Hasan, Mehrab Hossain,
Shakib Al Hasan, Rajin Saleh, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shahadat Hossain, Enamul
Haque, Mahbubul Alam, Sajidul Islam.
CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, Friday, AFP |