Focused Tigers in control

All the drama leading up to Bangladesh's historic 100th Test match was set aside in stirring fashion by the 11 cricketers tasked with putting on a performance befitting the occasion. On a pretty good batting wicket, having lost the toss and being asked to field in sweltering heat, Bangladesh's bowlers hunted in packs and reduced Sri Lanka to 238 for seven at stumps, which was taken 20 minutes late and seven overs short of the day's quota as umpires took the players off for bad light minutes before the skies opened to soak the P Sara Oval turf in Colombo yesterday.

There were four changes in the Bangladesh side for the landmark match with Imrul Kayes, debutant Mosaddek Hossain, Sabbir Rahman and Taijul Islam taking the places of Mominul Haque, Mahmudullah Riyad, Liton Das and Taskin Ahmed respectively.

In spite of the shakeup, superb bowling from seamers Mustafizur Rahman, Subashis Roy and off-spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz had gotten Sri Lanka to 70 for four at lunch and 149 for five at tea. With the new ball still fresh, Bangladesh will be looking to finish the job early today.

Dinesh Chandimal, who had lived a charmed life, was batting on 86 with skipper Rangana Herath keeping him company in an unbroken eighth-wicket stand of 43. There was a bit of concern too in the last session when, in the 76th over, a sweep from Herath off Taijul hit Imrul hard on his boot and he had to go off the field. Bangladesh team manager Khaled Mahmud however said after the day that Imrul would be able to field in the morning today.

In the last session, a highly irresponsible reverse sweep from Niroshan Dickwella off Shakib Al Hasan helped Bangladesh regain the initiative after a 44-run sixth-wicket stand. Upon the reintroduction of Bangladesh's highest wicket-taker, Dickwella chose to reverse-sweep a ball that pitched outside his leg-stump only to be bowled for 34 as the ball went on with the arm. Six for 180 became seven for 195 when Dilruwan Perera chased a wide ball from Mustafizur and edged to Soumya, who made a sharp take over his head look easy.

Earlier, the first session illustrated what a bowling attack singing from the same hymn sheet and creating sustained pressure can accomplish. Mustafizur was exceptional in his opening six-over spell, and along with Subashis kept the Sri Lankans scoreless in the first three overs of the match -- the first time Bangladesh bowled three maidens on the trot to start off a Test.

The seamers were getting swing with the new ball, and Mustafizur was concentrating on an off-stump line, with the ball going away from the left-handed openers. After Miraz replaced Subashis in the eighth over and bowled another maiden, the patience of the Sri Lankan openers began to wear thin.

Dimuth Karunaratne had faced 18 balls from Mustafizur and did not score a single run. On a number of occasions he tried to squeeze deliveries past point, but off the fourth ball of the ninth over, he looked for a release and the resultant edge rocketed at chest height towards gully, where Miraz took a sharp catch to send back the opener for seven.

Miraz, who had taken wickets but was expensive at Galle, seemed to have rediscovered the accuracy that brought him so much success in his debut series against England last October. With there being purchase for the hard-spun ball as early as the first morning, Miraz just concentrated on dropping it on off stump and varying his pace and flight. His arm-balls too had the Sri Lankans in a tizzy. Kusal Mendis, the man-of-the-match in the first Test, coming in and playing across the line for a swept four would only have increased the 20-year-old spinner's confidence.

Soon Mendis had to walk back after the off-spinner's drift away from the right-hander beat the forward prod and the momentum carried him forward, allowing Mushfiqur to whip the bails off.

In the 16th over, Miraz produced another bit of magic. Holding one back and allowing it to dip and then zip sideways off the surface, he got Tharanga to push forward and that resulted in an edge taken low at first slip by Soumya. With Mendis back in the hut and Tharanga walking back for a 40-ball 11, Bangladesh had seen off the two batsmen that had caused them so much trouble in Galle, and it was now Sri Lanka in trouble at 35 for three.

Chandimal and Asela Gunaratne then set about doing the repair job. Subashis was brought on for the over before lunch, and the constant geeing up from the likes of Tamim Iqbal at mid off worked a treat. Working up decent pace, Subashis had Gunaratne inside-edging onto his toe, which caused the batsman some pain. The next ball was a perfect inswinger that rapped the right-hander in front, and he did not even wait for the umpire's decision as he hobbled off and Bangladesh went to lunch after an excellent morning's work.

Around an hour after lunch, Bangladesh would count themselves a bit unlucky to not have Chandimal in the 39th over bowled by Shakib. The initial appeal seemed to have been for a leg-before decision as Chandimal played around a ball going on with the arm from around the wicket, but Soumya appealed for a catch after pouching the deflection from the pad at slip. Umpire Ravi signalled out and Chandimal reviewed. Without Hot Spot or Ultra Edge, replays proved inconclusive and the decision was overturned, but in such scenarios the on-field call usually stands.

In the 46th over Chandimal swept Taijul to Miraz at deep fine leg and the youngster seemed to have completed a spectacular forward-diving catch, but the umpires were unsure about the cleanness of the take and replays suggested that the ball may have bounced before Miraz caught it, so Chandimal batted on. Two overs later Taijul took his first wicket when Dhananjaya de Silva played a rash pull shot to a ball that was not short enough and was bowled off his pads for a 54-ball 34, bringing an end to a 66-run fifth-wicket stand.

The Sri Lankans then went to tea without further damage on 149 for five, having steadied the ship somewhat.