Mostafij: "Most of the BD batters (also tail-enders) got some start in batting, reflecting that the pitch has nothing lethal. It's the patience that made the innings low-scoring. " --- Or maybe it's the kind of pitch where you're never truly in?
Nonymous: "197/7 to almost 250. That's a solid tail wagging effort from Bangladesh. "
10.30am So 50 runs came from the final three wickets, how important could that be for Bangladesh? Taijul's enterprising 33 was at the heart of it. Sri Lanka would have bit your hand off if offered this same score at the start of play yesterday, but with the pitch not behaving as a usual SSC surface, Sri Lanka's batters might not have it easy as they might expect. There's was uneven bounce and some stickiness yesterday, and it was more of the same today, with the ball really not coming on. Sonal Dinusha finished with innings best figures of 3 for 22, with Asitha Fernando not far behind on 3 for 51. Shadman Islam top scored for the visitors with 46, but six other batters scored at least 20 - if only one had carried on. On the face of it, 247 might seem below par, but it could very well prove as challenging for the Lankan batters out there - provided the Bangladesh bowlers show similar discipline as their Lankan counterparts. Stay tuned, we'll be back for SL innings shortly.
Taijul Islam c Chandimal b Dinusha 33 (79m 60b 5x4 0x6) SR: 55