(ESPNCRICINFO) – On a surface that Bangladesh’s batters had laboured on a day earlier, Sri Lanka’s batters made hay, as a 194-run second-wicket stand between Pathum Nissanka and Dinesh Chandimal took the hosts to a 43-run lead at stumps on day two.
At the close, nightwatcher Prabath Jayasuriya was in the middle to keep Nissanka – unbeaten on 146 – company, as light began to fade quickly. Jayasuriya had survived a few nervy moments, including a lbw review late, but Sri Lanka went home the happier of the two sides.
Chandimal fell 93 late in the final session, agonisingly short of a 17th Test hundred, attempting a reverse sweep, giving Bangladesh some consolation. The only other wicket had been Lahiru Udara, who had made a meaningful 40 during an 88-run opening stand before being trapped lbw shortly after lunch.
In-between those two wickets though, Nissanka was the headline act of another day of Sri Lankan dominance. His was an innings that showed all aspects of the man, from the stoicism which brought him a gritty Test ton on debut, to the belligerence that made him Sri Lanka’s first ever ODI double centurion.
With Bangladesh’s final two wickets picked up inside the first hour of play in the morning session, Sri Lanka would have been wary of not succumbing to the same pitfalls that befell the Bangladesh batters, particularly on a wicket that was turning out to not be as batter-friendly as first assumed.
But from the very first delivery he faced, an insouciant back foot punch through the covers for four, Nissanka set the tone – and showed that he, and the rest of the Lankan batters, would not be afraid to pounce on any errors. As it turned out there were a fair few of those in the first 10 overs of the Lankan innings, as Sri Lanka racked up nine boundaries in the opening salvo. Their run rate during that time a staggering 5.5.
But over the next 11 overs – up until the end of the session – Sri Lanka scored just 28 runs, as Bangladesh led by Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam reeled things back. And so the innings would ebb and flow in a similar vein, as Sri Lanka gave due respect to the bowlers for their stints of disciplined bowling, but jolted into action when anything loose was on offer.