Clinical Sri Lanka sweep Test series against Bangladesh

CHITTAGONG (Agencies): Lahiru Kumara finished with 4-50 to help Sri Lanka thump Bangladesh by 192 runs in the second Test and sweep the two-match series 2-0 on Wednesday. The fast bowler dismissed last man Khaled Ahmed to wrap up a one-sided contest before lunch on the fifth day in Chittagong. Hosts Bangladesh, chasing a mammoth 511 in their second innings, added just 50 after resuming on 268-7. Mehidy Hasan Miraz staged a lone fight to stay unbeaten on 81 after completing his sixth Test half-century. With a Sri Lankan triumph all but inevitable when the day began, Mehidy played some positive strokes to bring up his 50 off 68 balls. He lost overnight partner Taijul Islam for 14 when the batsman drove off-spinner Kamindu Mendis to Nishan Madushka at gully. Kamindu finished with 3-32 to go with his unbeaten 92 with the bat in the first innings, earning him the man of the match award.

He was also named player of the series after scoring a hundred in both innings of the first Test. “The bowlers did their basics on this wicket and the batters did their job as well,” Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva said. “The batters were a bit disappointed about not getting runs in the first Test, but we have experienced players. I was confident they would get runs,” he added. “There wasn’t a lot of spin on offer. So I thought about reverse swing as a way to get wickets. The pacers were really on the spot.” Sri Lankan pacers accounted for 33 of the 40 Bangladesh wickets to fall, a rare feat on Bangladesh’s generally spin-friendly pitches.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said the home side’s poor showing for the red-ball series would provoke some soul-searching. “If you look at our batting, everyone got set but didn’t get a big score. That’s something to think about,” he said. “If you get set, you have to make a score. We have to play more first-class cricket.” Sri Lanka won the first Test in Sylhet by 328 runs. They also triumphed in the three-match T20 series 2-1 but lost the one-day international series by the same margin. Bangladesh will host Zimbabwe for five T20s in May in their next international engagement, ahead of the T20 World Cup starting in June.

SCOREBOARD

SRI LANKA 1ST INNINGS 531

BANGLADESH 1ST INNINGS 178

SRI LANKA 2ND INNINGS 157-7 dec

BANGLADESH 2ND INNINGS (target 511 runs)

Mahmudul Hasan Joy b Jayasuriya     24

Zakir Hasan c de Silva b M Fernando 19

Najmul Hossain Shanto b Kumara      20

Mominul Haque c Kumara b Jayasuriya       50

Shakib Al Hasan c K Fernando b P Mendis  36

Litton Das c B Mendis b Kumara       38

Shahadat Hossain lbw b P Mendis      15

Mehidy Hasan Miraz not out    81

Taijul Islam c K Fernando b P Mendis 14

Hasan Mahmud c K Fernando b Kumara      6

Khaled Ahmed b Kumara         2

EXTRAS (B 9, LB 2, NB 2)     13

TOTAL (85 overs)         318

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-37 (Mahmudul Hasan Joy, 9.5 ov), 2-51 (Zakir Hasan, 14.6 ov), 3-94 (Najmul Hossain Shanto, 26.2 ov), 4-132 (Mominul Haque, 33.1 ov), 5-193 (Shakib Al Hasan, 49.4 ov), 6-197 (Litton Das, 52.5 ov), 7-243 (Shahadat Hossain, 61.3 ov), 8-281 (Taijul Islam, 71.5 ov), 9-312 (Hasan Mahmud, 82.4 ov), 10-318 (Khaled Ahmed, 84.6 ov)

BOWLING

Vishwa Fernando  10-0-39-1

Asitha Fernando   15-2-62-0

Lahiru Kumara     15-3-50-4

Prabath Jayasuriya 27-2-99-2

Dhananjaya de Silva       8-2-25-0

Kamindu Mendis  10-0-32-3

Umpires: Richard Illingworth, Rod Tucker

TV umpire: Chris Gaffaney

Match referee: Jeff Crowe