De Silva, Kamindu fire as Sri Lanka crush Bangladesh in first Test

SYLHET (Agencies): Sparkling centuries by middle-order batsman Kamindu Mendis and captain Dhananjaya de Silva helped Sri Lanka thrash Bangladesh by 328 runs on the fourth day of the opening Test on Monday to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. Having set Bangladesh a mammoth victory target of 511 after Kamindu scored 164 and De Silva 108 in the second innings in Sylhet, Sri Lanka bowled out the hosts for 182 in 49.2 overs. Kamindu and De Silva stitched together a 173-run partnership on the third day as Sri Lanka made 418 all out, marking only the third time ever that two 150-plus stands had been shared in one test match by the same pair. Bangladesh lost half their side on Sunday with only 47 on the board – still needing 464 for victory – and folded after a late fightback on the fourth day, with Kasun Rajitha taking 5-56 and Vishwa Fernando claiming 3-36.  Mominul Haque offered resistance with an unbeaten 87 but could not prevent the inevitable. Earlier in the match, knocks of 102 by Kamindu and De Silva were the outstanding performances on a challenging wicket as Sri Lanka were dismissed for 280 on the opening day. After Bangladesh’s Khaled Ahmed and Nahid Rana took six wickets, it was the turn of Sri Lanka’s seam bowlers to shine and they ripped through the hosts to secure a 92-run lead. Fernando captured four wickets while Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara bagged three each before Dimuth Karunaratne’s 36th test half-century helped the tourists increase their lead late on the second day. The second Test begins in Chattogram on March 30.

SCOREBOARD

SRI LANKA 1ST INNINGS 280

BANGLADESH 1ST INNINGS 188

SRI LANKA 2ND INNINGS 418

BANGLADESH 2ND INNINGS (target 511 runs)

Mahmudul Hasan Joy lbw b MVT Fernando 0

Zakir Hasan c BKG Mendis b Kumara         19

Najmul Hossain Shanto c Karunaratne b Rajitha    6

Mominul Haque not out  87

Shahadat Hossain c BKG Mendis b MVT Fernando         0

Litton Das c Mathews b MVT Fernando      0

Taijul Islam lbw b Rajitha        6

Mehidy Hasan Miraz c de Silva b Rajitha     33

Shoriful Islam c & b Rajitha     12

Khaled Ahmed c BKG Mendis b Rajitha      0

Nahid Rana c de Silva b Kumara        0

EXTRAS (B 11, LB 3, NB 3, W 2)    19

TOTAL (49.2 overs)      182

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-0 (Mahmudul Hasan Joy, 0.4 ov), 2-9 (Najmul Hossain Shanto, 1.6 ov), 3-36 (Zakir Hasan, 7.5 ov), 4-37 (Shahadat Hossain, 8.3 ov), 5-37 (Litton Das, 8.4 ov), 6-51 (Taijul Islam, 15.1 ov), 7-117 (Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 32.3 ov), 8-164 (Shoriful Islam, 45.5 ov), 9-164 (Khaled Ahmed, 45.6 ov), 10-182 (Nahid Rana, 49.2 ov)

BOWLING

Vishwa Fernando  15-5-36-3

Kasun Rajitha       14-1-56-5

Lahiru Kumara     11.2-1-39-2

Prabath Jayasuriya 9-1-37-0

Umpires: Chris Gaffaney, Richard Illingworth

TV umpire: Rod Tucker

Match referee: Jeff Crowe