Fernando, Kamindu, and De Silva drive Bangladesh to the verge

On the third day of the first Test at Sylhet, Kamindu Mendis (164) and Dhananjaya de Silva (108) scored their respective second tons in the game, while Vishwa Fernando (3-13) spearheaded a barrage of late ball hits to edge Bangladesh closer to a crushing defeat. Bangladesh were faltering at 47/5 at stumps on the third day, well short of the enormous goal of 511.

After losing nightwatch Fernando with just seven runs scored to the overnight total, Sri Lanka resumed the day at 119/5. Bangladesh would have been optimistic about their ability to keep Sri Lanka’s total to a reasonable level at 126/6. But much like in the opening inning, de Silva and Kamindu Mendis united to form a rearguard. Together, they quickly put up 173 runs for the seventh wicket, smashing Bangladesh’s spirits. The hosts began to lose control of the ball as the stand went on and gave up easy runs. In a Test match, De Silva made history as the first Sri Lankan skipper to score two tons, while Kamindu became the nation’s quickest scorer.

Upon de Silva’s dismissal, the advantage had gradually approached 400 runs. After he and Prabath Jayasuriya scored 67 runs to extend the margin above 500 runs. Kamindu made sure that Bangladesh would suffer much more. Bangladesh’s bowlers had a difficult time applying the same level of pressure that they were able to in the first innings. Mehidy Hasan Miraz (4–74) was the only one to achieve respectability via spell discipline.

The hosts would have like to reach stumps with the fewest number of wickets lost, considering they had a massive goal to pursue. Rather, Fernando caused a collapse by removing Mahmudul Hasan Joy in the opening over of the innings. Along with Litton Das and Shahadat Hossain, he also claimed a wicket each for Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara.