June 26, 2007	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 10, 1428

COLOMBO, June 25: Spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan claimed his 58th five-wicket haul as Sri Lanka overpowered Bangladesh on the opening day of the first cricket Test here on Monday.

The off-spinner grabbed five wickets for 15 runs as Bangladesh, sent in to bat in overcast conditions, were shot out for their third lowest total of 89 in 32.3 overs in the post-lunch session.

Sri Lanka were 227-3 at stumps in reply – a lead of 138 – despite a troubled start when seamer Shahadat Hossain removed debutant Malinda Warnapura for zero and Kumar Sangakkara for six in his first two overs.

Captain Mahela Jayawardene, caught off a Shahadat no-ball when on 17, hit 93 before he retired hurt due to a strain in his right calf muscle, seven runs short of his 17th Test century.

Opener Michael Vandort, who put on 170 for the third wicket with his skipper, was unbeaten on 87. Tillekeratne Dilshan was the other batsman at the crease on 27.

The 35-year-old Muralitharan took his career tally to 679 wickets, leaving him just 30 away from surpassing retired Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne's world record of 708.

“There was some moisture in the wicket in the morning which helped the bowlers,” said Vandort, a last-minute replacement for the injured Upul Tharanga.

“But we had to bat well ourselves and I am glad I hung in there. It is not easy to get into the Sri Lankan team, so I must make the most of it.”

Muralitharan, who claimed 50 wickets in six previous Tests against Bangladesh, once again ripped through the tourists' line-up after the seamers did the early damage.

Dilhara Fernando took 3-33 and Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga shared the remaining two as Bangladesh collapsed to 64-7 by lunch at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

Bangladesh were in danger of falling short of their lowest Test totals – 86 against Sri Lanka and 87 against the West Indies – when they further slumped to 69-8 early in the post-lunch session.

Khaled Mashud (12 not out) and Mohammad Rafique (11) took them to 85, before last man Abdur Razzak drove Muralitharan through the covers for a boundary to prevent a new low by his team.

Saqibul Hasan's 16 was the top score as the Bangladeshis, who have lost all their seven previous Tests against Sri Lanka, struggled against both pace and spin.

The top five batsmen, including new captain Mohammad Ashraful, were back in the pavilion with just 50 runs on the board.

“It was a bad start to my captaincy,” rued the 22-year-old Ashraful, who took over from Habibul Bashar from this series. “We had high hopes of batting well but it just did not work out. Hopefully we will do better in the second innings. We have to.”

Muralitharan, who was introduced in the 18th over, struck with his fifth delivery and then took wickets at regular intervals to complete Bangladesh's misery.

The hosts left the wicket-keeper's duties to Prasanna Jayawardene as regular stumper Sangakkara took the field as one of seven specialist batsmen in the side.

Scoreboard

BANGLADESH (1st Innings):

Javed Omar c P. J’wardene b Vaas 8

Shahriar Nafees c P. J’wardene b Malinga 15

Rajin Saleh lbw b Murali 3

Habibul Bashar lbw b Fernando 2

M. Ashraful c Warnapura b Fernando 7

Saqibul Hasan lbw b Murali 16

Khaled Mashud not out 12

Shahadat Hossain c Murali b Fernando 1

Mashrafe Mortaza st P. J’wardene b Murali 1

Mohammad Rafique lbw b Murali 11

Abdur Razzak st P. J’wardene b Murali 4

EXTRAS (LB-2, NB-7) 9

TOTAL (all out, 32.3 overs) 89

FALL OF WKTS: 1-28, 2-28, 3-32, 4-43, 5-50, 6-61, 7-64, 8-69, 9-85.

BOWLING: Vaas 7-3-8-1 (1nb); Malinga 7-0-31-1 (6nb); Fernando 11-2-33-3; Muralitharan 7.3-3-15-5.

SRI LANKA (1st Innings):

M.G. Vandort not out 87

B.S.M. Warnapura lbw b Shahadat 0

K.C. Sangakkara c Mashud b Shahadat 6

D.P.M.D. Jayawardene retired hurt 93

L.P.C. Silva c Mortaza b Razzak 1

T.M. Dilshan not out 27

EXTRAS (B-6, W-2, NB-5) 13

TOTAL (for three wkts, 51 overs) 227

FALL OF WKTS: 1-1, 2-14, 3-187.

TO BAT: H.A.P.W. Jayawardene, W.P.U.J.C. Vaas, S.L. Malinga, M. Muralitharan, C.R.D. Fernando.

BOWLING: Mashrafe Mortaza 6-0-27-0 (3nb, 1w); Shahadat Hossain 8-0-53-2 (1nb, 1w); Abdur Razzak 14-1-47-1; Mohammad Rafique 11-1-46-0; Saqibul Hasan 5-0-19-0 (1nb); Mohammad Ashraful 7-0-29-0.

NOTE: D.P.M.D. Jayawardene retired hurt at 184-2.

UMPIRES: Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and S.L. Shastri (India).

TV UMPIRE: T.H. Wijewardene (Sri Lanka).

MATCH REFEREE: J.J. Crowe (New Zealand).—AFP