Lunch Update: Sri Lanka 83 for 0 (Nissanka 42*, Udara 40*) trail Bangladesh 247 (Shadman 46, Dinusha 3-22, Asitha 3-51) by 164 runs.
Nissanka and Udara Steady the Ship with 83-Run Stand
Sri Lanka’s openers Pathum Nissanka and Lahiru Udara stitched together a commanding 83-run opening partnership, keeping Bangladesh’s bowlers at bay in the first session of Day 2 of the second Test in Colombo. They scored at nearly four runs per over, pushing Sri Lanka closer to Bangladesh’s first-innings total of 247.
Nissanka played a fluent knock of 42 off 64 deliveries, dispatching six boundaries, most of them off Bangladesh’s seamers. Udara, showing similar composure, notched up 40 from 62 balls, striking three of his four boundaries off pace bowling.
Bangladesh Bowlers Fail to Capitalize on Uneven Pitch
Although the Colombo pitch had shown uneven bounce on Day 1, the Bangladeshi pace attack failed to exploit it. Both Ebadot Hossain and Nahid Rana were inconsistent, often straying too wide or too short. This allowed Nissanka to drive with freedom, especially a glorious square drive off an overpitched ball from Rana.
Even left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, who was dependable the previous day, began Day 2 with erratic lengths. The introduction of Mehidy Hasan Miraz did slow things down, but by then, both Sri Lankan batters were well set.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏,” 𝒂 𝑺𝒓𝒊 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅. “𝑵𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚.”
Bangladesh’s Batting Falters Despite Taijul’s Resistance
Earlier, Taijul Islam added 33 off 60 balls, showing great resolve with the bat. He handled the short-pitched deliveries confidently and was proactive against the spinners, even shielding the tailenders to prolong the innings.
However, Sri Lanka’s short-ball strategy paid off again, with Ebadot falling to a well-set trap. Though Bangladesh’s tail tried to stretch the innings, a mistimed lofted shot from Taijul ended the innings as he holed out to mid-off.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚’𝒅 𝒈𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅,” 𝑻𝒂𝒊𝒋𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏.
Sri Lanka’s Fielding Still a Concern
Despite their overall success with the ball, Sri Lanka dropped another catch, continuing a concerning trend. Kamindu Mendis failed to hold onto a low chance offered by Taijul, though Sonal Dinusha made up for it by dismissing the last man soon after.
“𝑾𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅,” 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑺𝒓𝒊 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝑲𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒚. “𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒑.”
Looking Ahead: Can Sri Lanka Capitalize?
With both openers looking set and confident, Sri Lanka will be eyeing a first-innings lead and possibly a dominant position in the match. For Bangladesh, the challenge now lies in regrouping and striking early in the post-lunch session to avoid letting the game drift away.
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