Chandimal, lower order lift Sri Lanka to 338

Dinesh Chandimal‘s well-paced 138 helped Sri Lanka wrest back control and momentum on the second morning. The home side was finally bowled out for 338, having added an even 100 to a precarious overnight 238 for 7. Chandimal fell shortly after pushing the score past 300, but Sri Lanka’s last-wicket pair of Lakshan Sandakan and Suranga Lakmal frustrated Bangladesh further with by adding 35 runs.

When the day began, Chandimal was unbeaten on 86 and had added an unbroken 43 for the eighth wicket with his captain Rangana Herath, who was on 18 off 63 balls. Chandimal had only struck four boundaries on the first day – three in the first session and the other one after tea. He was uncharacteristically solid, playing the all-important anchor as wickets fell at the other end.

That partnership between Chandimal and Herath extended to a little over half an hour on the second morning. They had added 55 when Herath jabbed at a quicker one from Shakib Al Hasan and edged to slip where Soumya Sarkar juggled slightly before completing the take. Sarkar would add one more catch to finish with four for the innings – a record for a Bangladesh fielder. Imrul Kayes had taken five against New Zealand in Wellington, but had done so having replaced an injured Mushfiqur Rahim behind the stumps.

Chandimal struck two more fours in the nineties, before a leading edge that dropped around cover brought him his eighth Test century, and fourth against Bangladesh. Thereafter, he opened up to take the attack to the visiting team.

He hammered Shakib down the ground before clipping Mustafizur over square-leg for a superb six. In between, he survived another umpire’s call after S Ravi adjudged him caught-behind off Mustafizur. Replays, however, showed daylight between bat and ball. He then struck a four to bring up Sri Lanka’s 300 and the fifty of his ninth-wicket partnership with Suranga Lakmal, who at the time had faced just 17 out of 82 partnership deliveries.

Seven balls later, he was caught at square leg, attempting a slog off Mehedi, for 138 off 300 balls with the help of ten fours and one six.

Lakmal struck Mehedi for two fours and a six in the 112th over to further irritate Bangladesh’s fielders, some of whom got into an argument with him for running on the wicket.

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Source: ESPN Crickinfo