Sri Lanka take the ascendancy as Nissanka slams ton

Pathum Nissanka scored yet another hundred and was well supported by Dinesh Chandimal in a 194-run partnership that deflated Bangladesh on Day 2 of the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. After bundling Bangladesh out for 247, Sri Lanka moved to a strong position by Stumps, having reached 290/2, ending the day with a lead of 43. Nissanka was unbeaten on 146 while Chandimal fell in the closing moments of the day for 93.

Starting the day at 220/8, Bangladesh's hopes of stretching their first innings received a jolt early in the session when Asitha Fernando bagged the wicket of Ebadot Hossain, trapping him in front for 8 to end the ninth wicket partnership that lasted for 28 deliveries and yielded 15 runs. Taijul Islam, however, kept the fight going as he struck a few boundaries en route to a useful knock of 33. Nahid Rana survived seven deliveries without scoring in his 18-run stand with Taijul before the latter fell to debutant Sonal Dinusha, who finished with a three-wicket haul.

Sri Lanka began their reply in a solid fashion as openers Nissanka and Lahiru Udara put on an 80-plus partnership. Bangladesh started with the combination of pace and spin, with Ebadot and Taijul bowling in tandem. But Nissanka and Udara handled them with ease, striking regular boundaries. Even the express pace of Rana did not have any effect on the openers, with Udara flicking a couple of fours in his first over before surviving an lbw appeal in Taijul's over thanks to umpire's call. Nissanka also hit two fours in a Rana over as the openers raised the half-century stand inside 9 overs. Bangladesh then used spin from both ends as Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul bowled some tight overs leading into Lunch, with Sri Lanka moving to 83/0.

The opening stand, worth 88, came to an end in the third over of the second session when Taijul got Udara out leg-before, with Bangladesh having to use the DRS route to get the decision in their favour. But their respite was a momentary one as Nissanka and Chandimal put on a massive stand to deflate the visiting team. After Nissanka got past fifty, Chandimal slogswept Taijul for a six and both batters dealt in boundaries to power Sri Lanka forward. Bangladesh, meanwhile, lost a review for an lbw appeal in Nayeem Hasan's over and Sri Lanka reviewed one successfully in Taijul's over, with Chandimal being the batter in question both times. He went on to bring up a half-century as Sri Lanka went into Tea at 190/1.

Nissanka was struck on his helmet by a well-directed bouncer from Rana at the start of the third session and after a change of the head gear, he continued unperturbed as he brought up a fine hundred with a four off the same pacer. The Bangladesh bowlers struggled to cut off the boundary options as Nissanka and Chandimal scored freely, with the latter moving into the 90s with a slash off Rana for a four. A reverse sweep, though, ended Chandimal's stay as he missed out on a hundred, with Nayeem giving Bangladesh a much-needed break. Soon after that, the visitors wasted a review on nightwatchman Prabath Jayasuriya, who edged a four off Mominul Haque in what was the final over before the close of play, as the umpires called stumps with light deteriorating.

Brief scores: Bangladesh 247 (Shadman Islam 46, Mushfiqur Rahim 35; Sonal Dinusha 3-22, Asitha Fernando 3-51) trail Sri Lanka 290/2 (Pathum Nissanka 146*, Dinesh Chandimal 93; Nayeem Hasan 1-45) by 43 runs.