The Serendip sensibility

Writes Ashok Malik on Cric Info …..

Murali-Mendis combination: a great mix of experience and youth

For an Indian cricket fan, the first Test match of the series in Sri Lanka was a humbling experience. The Indian cricket community and media not being given to patience, inevitably the attack will begin – on the captain, the poor spin bowling and the ageing middle order.

Frankly, that is an issue I don’t want to touch upon for the simple reason that one Test match is too little time in which to decide that entire careers are over and wholesale changes are needed. If the rest of the series proceeds like this, then perhaps there may be long-term issues to address. Even so, that is meat for another post, another time.

The point I want to focus on today is how Sri Lanka, for the past 20 odd years and certainly since the mid-1990s, remains the most underrated and under-appreciated top quality cricket team in the world. To an attack led by a fine fast bowler and one of the greatest spinners in history, they’ve added a lethal new weapon. Their cricket system has this enviable ability to churn out a series of elegant and/or devastatingly destructive batsmen, one after the other.

How do they do it? I’m no expert on Sri Lankan cricket and its infrastructure. I can only refer to what I’ve read and heard. One story never fails to make an impression. I read it years ago, shortly after the 1996 world cup was won by Arjuna Ranatunga’s men – by the blazing opening pair of Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana – when Rohit Brijnath wrote a piece in India Today on Sri Lanka’s cricket nursery.

I can’t recall the entire article but do remember a reference to the integrity and honesty of the Sri Lankan cricket work ethic. I think it was in Brijnath’s article that I read about the Wettimuny brothers, Sunil, Mithra and Sidath (Sri Lanka’s first test centurion). reproducing a fraying, century-old English coaching manual, page by page, painstakingly drawing the illustrations, copying the text.

It was an age before ubiquitous photocopying machines and scanners, I suppose, and being classicists, the brothers felt the young cricketers in their charge must learn cricket the right way. The romantic in me would like to believe that some of the young men in the team that smashed India on July 26 were beneficiaries of the Wettimuny way.

It is an unusual anecdote but to my mind a memorable one. The Wettimuny brothers’ act was perhaps the most moving tribute an international cricketer had ever paid to his art form, a reverential prayer to “Mother Cricket”, to borrow an expression South African coach Mickey Arthur used recently, albeit in another context.

I wish I could rattle off names of Indian cricketers who would gladly do the same to pay their dues, pass on their skills to another, less endowed generation. For me, that sentiment, that sense of obligation sums up cricket more than statistics, razzmatazz and other trivia.

I’ve never seen a cricket match in Sri Lanka – though I do want to go there for a test some day – but have visited Colombo three times. I’ve discussed cricket with auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers, government officials, hotel waiters, bookstore managers, bartenders, you name it. The Sri Lankans love their cricket, are fiercely proud of their cricket team and badly want it to win.

Yet, it’s struck me that their pride and passion is never overdone or overaggressive. It’s not as if they’re trying to tell you that not only is the Sri Lankan team good but the Indian (and every other) team is bad or otherwise less than reputable. There is no deliberate running down of the other guy. Perhaps he exists, but I’ve never met the Ugly Sri Lankan Cricket Fan. I’ve encountered his equivalent in or from India, Pakistan and Australia more often than I’d want to.

To me, the best cricket tradition is one that plays the game hard, speaks in the contemporary idiom and yet salutes cricket’s glorious, unparalleled heritage. Among the three major Asian countries, I think Sri Lanka has it just right. Indian cricket swings wildly between (usually imagined) victimhood and overweening arrogance, including telling English county clubs whom to select or drop. Pakistan’s is another cricket establishment with just too many chips on its shoulder.

Sri Lanka is different. It fights and fights fiercely when it has to. Ranatunga was the prototype of the assertive, tough-as-nails Asian captain when he defended his star bowler – accused of chucking – through a gruelling tour of Australia. He took on the umpires, the other team, the unfriendly press – because he believed in his cause, his team, his country.

Even so, Sri Lankan cricket does not believe in a permanent war theory. The past is over; the mid-1990s are dead. The team and the country have moved on. The Indian and Pakistani cricket boards, on the other hand, are continually fighting yesterday’s wars.

If you’re ever in Colombo, visit the Cricket Café – at least that’s what I think it’s called. Among other things, it serves great sea food but that’s not the only reason I have fond memories of it. In its own manner, it’s a delightful little cricket museum, with memorabilia from, well, Old Blighty to New Ceylon. It has place for Hutton and Hobbs but, equally, for Murali and Mendis.

To me, this signified a small but important lesson. Sri Lankans love their cricket team and also love cricket. They don’t see the two emotions as either synonymous or mutually exclusive. I’ve never visited an Indian restaurant with a similar sensibility. Sure, I could go to one with posters of current Indian cricket stars – but would that be a celebration of cricket? There is a difference.

Sri Lankans, as a society, understand that difference. That’s why it’s impossible to grudge them victory, even when they’ve hammered your team.

Courtesy : Cric Info

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Sri Lanka lift the 2008 Asia Cup

Sri Lanka outplayed the Indians at the National Stadium, Karachi, winning by 100 runs to lift the Asia Cup for a fourth time.

Watching this match, I just thought to myself, “has Sri Lanka rediscovered their mojo?” The past couple of months, in fact since they ended up as finalists at the 2007 World Cup, they haven’t quite played up to the best of their ability in the One-day version of the game. [This was one reason why I had lost some interest in jotting down my thoughts for this cricket blog, but still continued to keep up with the games, simply because, I was an avid fan of Sri Lankan cricket, no matter whether they win or lose. But, hey ! when is it a more appropriate time to blog than this? ] It all began with a series loss to Pakistan in Abu Dhabi (the SL team was not in full strength though) followed by a home series loss to England, and early this year, failing to reach the finals of the CB series that also featured Australia and India and later a defeat at the hands of West Indies. After the selectors decided the drop the sernior pros, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralidaran for the WI tour, youngsters such as Chamara Kapugedara, Mahela Udawatte and Thilan Thushara made some sort of an impact, but the best was yet to come. It was a 23 year old spinner “Ajantha Mendis” who was picked to the squad from the SL Army team that drew the most attention with his intelligent bowling.

Sanath Jayasuriya performed when it was most needed ….

Here it is, the man who made the debut that day in the Caribbean picking up impressive figures of 3-39 from his ten overs, completely turned the tables in Pakistan, leading his team to a comprehensive victory over the Indian team in the Asia Cup finals of the 2008 edition. Winning by a huge margin against Bangladesh and United Arab Emirates in the preliminary round, SL opened their account in the Super Four round with a magnificient victory over Pakistan. Kumar Sangakkara starred in the batting, scoring his 8th ODI hundred but it was Mendis, the ‘Mystery spinner’ as he is now often referred to in the cricketing circles, who removed key Pakistani batsmen to turn the game in Sri Lanka’s favour.

But, the best was yet to come. Having reached the Finals with a win over Bangladesh, they met India for more than the first time, in the history of the tournament. India’s captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first, not only hoping to get some early breakthroughs but also because he was very much confident of the ability of his batting line up to chase any total. It certainly seemed to have paid off, when the Sri Lankan scoreboard read 66/4, with Sangakkara – 4( run out due to a miscommunication), Mahela Jayawardene – 11(b Ishant c Rohit), Kapugedara – 5(b Ishant c Raina) and Chamara Silva – 0(b Ishant) all headed back to the pavilion at the end of, only the 12th over. Since cricket is a team sport, it is all about taking responsibility and that is exactly what the Master Blaster Jayasuriya did by getting together with Tillekeratne Dilshan for an important 131-run fifth wicket partnership. When the dashing opener raised his century off 79 balls, rescuing Sri Lanka from a precarious situation, he send a strong signal to his fellow critics, as he has done all throughout his career, that the most important thing is to let the bat do the talking. We might never have seen him play in this tournament, had it not been for the Indian Premier League, which provided a efficient platform for the maestro, to not only showcase his rare talent but also to get back to fine form, when some of his own countrymen turned their backs on him.

So, he cracked another century, his 27th before been caught by Ishant Sharma off the bowling of Virender Sehwag in the 35th over. With some small but fairly important contributions from Dilshan(56), Nuwan Kulasekara(29) and Chaminda Vaas(19) down the order, SL managed to reach a total of 273 all out in 49.5 overs.At first glance, it appeared to be an easy target for the Indians not merely because of the extreme batting friendliness of the pitch, but also due to the quality batting line up they got. In fact, they proved it right by getting off to a flying start reaching 30+ in some 3 overs. Although Gautam Gambhir was picked up soon after off the bowling of Vaasy, Viru went berserk getting to his fifty in no time. The smart captaincy of Mahela was quick to introduce Sri Lanka’s newest trump card, the mystery spin of Ajantha (unknown to the Indians till then) in as early as the 9th over. Thereafter, there was just no way that the Indians could ever creep in to the game, because Ajantha tore through the top and middle order over by over leaving the Indians bamboozled. Viru was stumped and Yuvi, bowled in the same over, Raina’s stumps knocked down and Rohit trapped leg before giving the spinner fantastic figures of 4-8 in his first 4 overs.

Ajantha Mendis - successfully appeals for a wicket

Then, just as Captain Dhoni and Robin Uthappa tried to build up a partnership, the master spinner Murali, who had until then bowled superbly to contain the Indian batsmen, struck gold by removing Uthappa. Ajantha returned to continue his good work picking up both Irfan Pathan and Rudra Pratap Singh in one over. The new batsman in, Praghan Ojha appeared to be almost out and if not turned down by the Umpire, Ajantha would have collected his first ever hatrick in only his eighth game. Vaasy then joined the fun by capturing the wicket of Dhoni, India’s last hope of saving the game. Finally, Kulasekara bowled an excellent delivery to not only disturb the timber of Ishant, but also to give Sri Lanka a 100-run win and the Asia Cup trophy.

Sanath Jayasuriya set it up with his great batting and the fantastic bowling 6-13 of a youngster, Ajantha Mendis who showed not a glimpse of nervousness even on the big day, ensured that it was achieved. Jayasuriya was named the Expert Batsman of the Match and (any guesses ???) Mendis, who showed signs of a champion spinner in the making, received both the Man of the Match and Man of the Series award (17 wickets).

What an amazing performance by the Sri Lankans …..

I would say this has been by far, Sri Lanka’s best performance after the World Cup. Would this victory mark Sri Lanka’s resurgence on the field? Would it serve as a turning point to put the team back on track? The answers are not very far away, as SL joins the same opposition for a Test and ODI series, later this month.

Photo Courtesy : Daily News (SL)

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Eggs and abuse hurled at Murali and officials

Members of the Sri Lankan camp in Australia for the CB series were the target of verbal abuse and had eggs thrown at them on Thursday night in Hobart. Muttiah Muralitharan and a team selector were part of a group walking from a restaurant to the team hotel and the selector was hit on the back by an egg. As a result, the Sri Lankan board has asked Cricket Australia (CA) to tighten security around the team.

“Muralitharan, along with one of the selectors and the team masseur, were walking on the street in Hobart when suddenly from nowhere a car passed them and the guy starts abusing,” a source close to the team confirmed to Cricinfo. “He then came back a few more times and repeated this and suddenly he started throwing eggs in their direction. One landed on the back of the selector. The team management has lodged a protest with the cops but fortunately nothing untoward happened on the ground.”

It is not clear whether Muralitharan was the target of the attack, though Sri Lanka’s manager, Shriyan Samararatne, suggested it was unlikely because it was dark and that the car was travelling at too great a speed for recognition. “I don’t know the exact motive,” Samararatne told AAP. “I doubt whether they recognised Murali but unfortunately he was there. We told Cricket Australia about it and they were very upset.”

Samararatne added also that nothing untoward had occurred when Sri Lanka played a Test in Hobart last November. Reacting to the incident, Sri Lanka Cricket chairman Arjuna Ranatunga said the team should look ahead and focus on the CB Series, which kicks off with a match between Australia and India on Sunday.

“I have spoken to Murali and team manager Shriyan Samararatne and they told me that they are not upset by what had happened,” Ranatunga said. “I have asked for a full report on the incident from the manager. Samararatne told me that he was not sure whether the team members were the target. I told him that the team should not lose focus on what they have come to achieve in Australia – to win the tri-series.”

Muralitharan’s presence is bound to complicate matters. The spinner, who is the world’s leading Test wicket-taker, has had a difficult time in Australia in the past. He was no-balled for throwing early in his career in 1995-96 and some Australian spectators have heckled him on subsequent tours. The reaction was so hostile Muralitharan refused to tour Australia in 2004, but he returned for Sri Lanka’s series last November when the trouble seemed to have eased off.

K Mathivanan, the SLC secretary, said the board had informed CA about the matter and had asked for security for the team to be enhanced. “We have drawn the attention of Cricket Australia to this incident yesterday,” Mathivanan told PTI.

“They have already given the team security. But we have asked the authorities whether this can be beefed up further.” Sri Lanka play their first match of the tri-series against India in Brisbane on Tuesday.

Source : Cric Info

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Congratz Murali ! – The Highest Wicket Taker in Test Cricket

All Congratulations to MUTTIAH MURALITHARAN of SRI LANKA, as he bowled Paul Collingwood of England, to go past Shane Warne’s World Record of 708 test wickets to become the Highest Wicket Taker in Test Cricket.

Murali, born on the 17th of April, 1972 hails from Kandy and is a proud product of St. Anthony’s College, Katugastota. Having made his test debut as a 20 year old against the mighty Australians in 1992, his 15 year cricket career, up to now, has been filled with controversy. In 1995, the Australian Umpire Darrell Hair was the first to “no-ball” Murali, followed by Ross Emerson in 1996. His action was then tested by ICC approved Biomechanics and subsequently cleared.

Then, on home soil he finished with figures of 12-117 in a Test against Zimbabwe to achieve the best figures by a Sri Lankan bowler in Test Cricket history. However, in 1999, he was once again “no-balled” by Ross Emerson, in an ODI against England before being reported by Match referee Chris Broad for a fourth time in 2004. Once more, he was subjected to undergo Testing in Australia and after finding that the ‘bending action’ was something common to most bowlers, the ICC increased the limit to 15 degrees for all bowlers. Soon after he went past Courtney Walsh’s World Record of 519 test wickets in Harare, Zimbabwe to become the World Record Holder for the first time.

After Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard called Murali a “Chucker” he pulled out of the Australian tour citing personal reasons.

Murali, then grabbed the record for the second time against the touring South Africans in Aug. 2004, after Shane Warne went past him few weeks back.

And, after a challenging Australian tour, in his 116th Test on the 3rd of Dec, 2007, amidst a crowd of over 6000 and his loving wife Madhimalar, son, Naren, and mother and father; he went past Australian Shane Warne’s record tally of 708 test wickets in the first test against England at Asgiriya, Kandy to become the WORLD RECORD HOLDER for the highest number of wickets in Test Cricket.

Murali, who already has 61, 5- wicket hauls and 20, 10-wicket hauls to his name, (the most by any test bowler), is undoubtedly the most successful bowler Sri Lanka has ever produced. He is also the only bowler to have picked up more than 50 wickets against every opposition he has played. It really is an achievement for Sri Lanka to have produced a World Record breaking bowler, in a span of only 25 years of test cricket. A stamp marking this incredible feat, was immediately released by the Department of Posts and Telecommunication.

Yet, even after earning such a glory, when asked, he quietly murmured “this is not for me, this is for Sri Lanka.” No Wonder…. “Dear Murali” is indeed a “National Hero” for the Sri Lankans.

We wish Murali all the strength and courage to pick up a 1000 Test Wickets for Sri Lanka !

Photo Courtesy : Cric Info

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Eight Sri Lanka stars join Twenty20 League in India

Ace Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and skipper Mahela Jayawardene have signed up for the new Twenty20 league in India next year, the cricket board said Monday.
The two stalwarts head a list of eight Sri Lankan players who have penned deals with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL), vice-president Lalit Modi said in a statement.

Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Zoysa, Farveez Maharoof and Dilhara Fernando complete the elite list.

The IPL, a Twenty20 competition to be held in India in April next year, offers three million dollars in prize money and will have eight teams to be bought by franchisees.

The top two sides would make it to an international Champions Twenty20 League to be played at an as yet undecided venue in October next year.

The IPL enjoys the backing of the International Cricket Council as against the rival Indian Cricket League, bankrolled by media baron Subhash Chandra.

Courtesy : Daily Mirror

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Murali ruled out of first two ODIs

Sri Lanka’s champion off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan will definitely miss the first two one day internationals against England which will be worked off on October 1 and 4 at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardena said Muralitharan is almost there but they will have to take a decision whether it is wise to risk him immediately after an injury and especially with a lot of Test cricket ahead of him this year.

Sri Lanka will play two Test matches against Australia in Brisbane and Hobart in November followed by a three Test home series against England in December.

Jayawardena said that the next six months will be an important period for his team and they need to have their best bowler in the line up and they will make a sensible decision on Muralitharan during the next couple of days.

Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss said that Kaushal Lokuarachchi is the likely candidate to take the place of the injured Muttiah Muralitharan. Lokuarachchi is one of the two specialist spinners named in the Sri Lanka one day squad along with Dilruwan Perera.

Courtesy : Daily News

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Elbow Injury keeps Murali out of Twenty20 World Championship

Sri Lanka’s spin magician, Muttiah Muralitharan has sustained an elbow injury, while playing for Lancashire against Kent on Wednesday.

Murali, who walked off the field with a right biceps strain after bowling more than 33 overs on the first day of Lancashire’s game against Kent, returned before the close of play, but did not bowl again during Kent’s innings.

This injury will keep Murali out of play for more than a month and may even miss the ODI series against the touring England team in early October. This means Sri Lanka will be without the services of its premier bowler for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup.

Murali, who is the quickest to take 200 wickets for Lancashire, was making his last county appearance this season and was scheduled to fly home over the weekend to join the Sri Lankan team’s preparations for the Twenty20 tournament.

Although a replacement has not yet been named by Sri Lanka Cricket, it could most certainly be the offspinning allrounder, Dilruwan Perera, who will take his place.

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Sri Lanka Cricket hits back at Bishan Singh Bedi

Media manager hints at possible legal action against the former Indian skipper for his outburst

Sri Lanka Cricket officials yesterday hit back former Indian test captain Bishan Singh Bedi over his alleged comment that Sri Lanka’s champion spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is a “monster” setting wrong precedent to youngsters.

Sri Lanka Cricket’s media manager Samantha Algama said that they are “greatly disappointed and concerned” by the statements made by Bedi and added that Sri Lanka Cricket sincerely believes that appropriate action should be taken by the authorities to prevent such incidents from recurring.

Hinting at possible legal action by the spinner, Algama said “Sri Lanka Cricket will support any and all efforts by Muralitharan to take corrective action in the matter” in a written statement sent to “Daily Mirror”, referring to our lead story yesterday, where Bedi was quoted.“While SLC respects the right of individuals to form their own opinion regarding the matter of illegal bowling actions; we feel that Mr.Bedi’s comments are defamatory and are intended to cause harm to Mr.Muralitharan’s reputation, his achievements and also disparages the ICC’s ruling on the said matter.” Algama added.

Explaining the matter further, Algama stated “Mr.Muralitharan’s bowling action has been scrutinized time and again by bowling experts, bio-mechanical experts and medical experts and has been found to be within the laws of the game. Furthermore, the ICC has also set in place procedures that deal with suspected illegal actions. Mr. Bedi should be aware of these procedures and processes.”

“It is irresponsible for a person of Mr.Bedi’s stature in the game to make such public comments where he has clearly attacked the personal integrity of Mr.Muralitharan and the technical competency of the ICC. Mr.Bedi has needlessly, unfairly and deliberately targeted Mr.Muralitharan in his vituperative outburst.” Algama’s statement added.

Murali will take legal action against Bedi says Manager

Muttiah Muralitharan’s manager Kushil Gunasekara in a statement to “Daily Mirror” yesterday said that the champion spinner will take legal action against Bedi’s comments shortly. Following is Gunasekara’s statement.

I refer to the media publication that appeared in the Daily Mirror of 9th August 2007 pertaining to the repulsive comments made by Mr Bishan Singh Bedi which is of a very serious defamatory nature to bring disrepute and tarnish the impressive image of Mr Muttiah Muralidaran.

It is no surprise that the ugly behaviour and unjustified allegations made by Mr Bishan Singh Bedi depicting more of a personal attack coincides with Murali’s attempt to achieve the highest number of test wickets by any bowler in the history of the game in the not too distant future.

The legal team of Mr Muttiah Muralidaran will shortly institute legal action against Mr Bishan Singh Bedi in view of the sordid and ghastly manner in which he has condemned by way of a severe character assassination to undermine Mr Muttiah Muralidaran’s magical art of spin bowling.

Courtesy : Daily Mirror

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Murali Joins Elite 700 Club

Sri Lanka’s Champion off Spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan yesterday joined the elite club of 700 Test Wickets by picking up Bangladeshi batsman Syed Rasel, as Sri Lanka completed a 3-0 sweep of the Test series at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy.

On Day 3, Captain Mahela Jayawardene together with Vice Captain, Kumar Sangakkara rebuilt the Sri Lankan innings after they had lost two wickets for 65. (Vandort -23, Tharanga-12). The skipper was quick in scoring, as he had already got to his half century by lunch, whereas Sangakkara at the other end was slow and patient at the start but attacked the Bangladeshi bowlers once he got in to rhythm.

Sri Lanka’s most prolific duo in Test Cricket added a massive 318 for the third wicket, with Jayawardene recording his 18th Test century (165) and Sangakkara contributing with another consecutive Double Hundred(222*). The pair also holds the record of the highest partnership for any wicket in Test or First-class cricket after their record breaking stand of 624 in the First Test against South Africa last year.

Sri Lankans declared at 500/4 and put Bangladesh in to bat at the very start of Day 4.

Lasith Malinga struck early removing Javed Omar for 22. But, Bangladeshis were well on course to drag the match to Day 5 at 106/2, when Murali was brought in to the take the wicket of Shariar Nafees, who was on 64. Then, paceman, Sujeewa De Silva tormented the Bangladeshis further by picking up two quick wickets ( Musfiqur Rahim-1, Rajin Saleh -0) in two of his successive overs.

Thereafter, the match was all Sri Lanka’s, as Murali took a further three wickets to not only complete a 3-0 sweep of the Laqshya Test Series, but, also to get to a wonderful milestone. By picking up his 700th Test Wicket at his home town in Kandy, among his dear parents Mother, Mrs. Lakshmi, Father, Mr. Muttiah; loving wife, Mrs. Madhimalar, relatives, team-mates and hundreds of fans, Murali became only the Second Bowler in Test Cricket History to reach this landmark. He is now only 8 wickets behind a memorable milestone, which is currently held by retired Shane Warne.

Bangladesh were all out for 176, as Sri Lanka wrapped up the third and Final Test of the Laqshya Test Series with an innings and 193-run victory.

Murali was adjudjed both, the Man-of-the-Match and the Man-of-the-Series for his consistent performance with the ball.

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Murali crushes Bangladesh

Veteran Sri Lankan spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan bagged 6-28, inorder to crush Bangladesh to 131-all out in their third and final test at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy.

Resuming the innings on 72/4 on Day 2, Bangladesh looked to bat through the day offering some resistance to the Sri Lankans, even after they had already lost the series. It was not to be so, as the Sri Lankan bowlers showed no mercy to the inexperienced Bangladeshis.

Seamer Sujeewa De Silva, recalled in to the side after a lapse of 5 years, replaced veteran opening bowler Chaminda Vaas, who returned to Middlesex Country cricket after the 2nd Test. De Silva was pretty impressive in his bowling, as he picked up 2-29 in his 12 overs.

Earlier on Day 1, Lasith Malinga and Farvez Maharoof, who replaced Dilhara Fernando had taken a wicket each to reduce Bangladesh to 72/4.

Murali, not only spun Bangladesh in his home ground in Kandy, but also achieved a milestone, by taking his 100th wicket at the Asgiriya Stadium alone, in only the 15th Test Match he played at this particular venue, a rare feat in Test Cricket. This was also Murali’s 59th Five-Wicket haul. This takes his Test wicket tally to 694, only 6 short of joining the elite 700 club as the World’s second bowler to do so, and moreover just 14 short of equalling the World Record currently held by Australia’s Shane Warne.

Continuing their pattern of failure in the first innings of the first two tests, Bangladesh once again showed a sense of inexperience in Test Cricket as they lost wickets at quick intervals. The highest scorer was Shahriar Nafees, who hit 29. The centurion-captain of the last test, Mohammed Ashraful was dismissed on 26 and the impressive wicketkeeper, Mushfiqur Rahim remained unbeaten on 11, as he lost partners.

In reply, Sri Lankan openers, who came to bat got to 30, without losing a wicket, when continuous rain interruptions stopped play early on Day 2.

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