Shanto hits twin tons as Bangladesh draw first Test against Sri Lanka

GALLE (Agencies): Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto blasted twin centuries to help his side draw the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Saturday, while Angelo Mathews brought the curtain down on his red-ball career after more than 100 games for the hosts. Shanto followed up his first-innings hundred with an unbeaten 125 in the second stanza after Mushfiqur Rahim was run out for 49, and Bangladesh declared on 285-6 to set Sri Lanka a steep victory target of 296 runs from 37 overs. Sri Lanka lost a couple of quick wickets before Mathews, a veteran with more than 8,000 Test runs to his name, held steadfast with the bat – albeit barely scoring any runs. In the end, Bangladesh called it a day with the score on 72-4 with five overs left. Bangladesh had made Sri Lanka toil on the opening two days, amassing 495 runs in their first innings including 148 for Shanto and 163 for Rahim, with Litton Das (90) unlucky to miss out on a century of his own. What followed was a batting tug-of-war on a placid wicket as Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka piled up 187 runs before Dinesh Chandimal (54) and Kamindu Mendis (87) helped the hosts reach 485 to concede only a 10-run lead at the halfway mark.

TURN AND BOUNCE: Bangladesh off-spinner Nayeem Hasan, who had begun to extract turn and bounce on a pitch showing signs of wear on the fourth day, claimed 5-121 – his fourth five-wicket haul in tests – to ensure Sri Lanka could not build a lead of their own. The tourists then roared to 177-3 in their second innings at the end of the penultimate day for a healthy advantage, with Shadman Islam (76) giving them the chance to push for a rare overseas test victory and valuable World Test Championship points. After showers late in the opening session on the fifth day wiped out 26 overs, Shanto reached his well-deserved hundred and asked Sri Lanka to bat again and attempt to chase down their big target at an asking rate of eight runs an over. Former captain Mathews, who scored 39 in Sri Lanka’s first innings, showed resilience in the final session and received a standing ovation when he fell for eight off 45 balls in his 119th and final test. The result was the first drawn game in Galle for 12 years. The second test starts in Colombo next Wednesday and the two sides later play three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals.

Brief scores:

Sri Lanka 485 (Nissanka 187, Kamindu 87, Nayeem 5-121, Mahmud 3-74) and 72 for 4 (Nissanka 24, Taijul 3-23) drew with Bangladesh 495 (Mushfiqur 163, Shanto 148, Litton 90, Asitha 4-86, M Rathnayake 3-39, T Rathnayake 3-196) and 285 for 6 dec (Shanto 125 not out, Shadman 76, T Rathnayake 3-102).