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COLOMBO, Sept 13: Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan grabbed two wickets with successive balls at the end of Tuesday’s play to leave Bangladesh facing an enormous task to avoid defeat in the opening Test.
Bangladesh, trailing by 182 runs after the first innings, were tottering at 36-3 in their second innings when bad light and rain stopped play with 12 overs remaining on the second day.
Skipper Habibul Bashar, who top-scored in the first innings with 84, was batting on 13 with Tushar Imran, who had yet to open his account.
The tourists walked off still 146 runs behind with only seven wickets in hand.
Sri Lanka earlier scored 370-9 declared in their first innings in reply to their opponents’ 188, thanks to solid half-centuries from Tillekeratne Dilshan (86), Thilan Samaraweera (78) and Mahela Jayawardene (63).
Left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique was the only bowler to test the Sri Lankan batsmen on a slow turning pitch as he finished with 5-114, his sixth haul of five or more wickets in an innings.
SCOREBOARD
BANGLADESH (1st Innings) 188 (Habibul Bashar 84; H.M.R.K.B. Herath 4-38).
SRI LANKA (1st Innings, overnight 160-3):
S.T. Jayasuriya c Aftab b Shahadat 46
M.S. Atapattu lbw b Rasel 18
K.C. Sangakkara c Ashraful b Rafique 30
T.T. Samaraweera c Mashud b Shahadat 78
D.P.M. Jayawardene c Mashud b Rafique 63
T.M. Dilshan b Rasel 86
W.P.U.J.C. Vaas lbw b Rafique 5
H.M.R.K.B. Herath c Mashud b Rafique 13
M. Muralitharan c Mashud b Rafique 3
C.R.D. Fernando not out 1
EXTRAS (LB-6, W-1, NB-20) 27
TOTAL (for nine decl, 110.2 overs) 370
FALL OF WKTS: 1-41, 2-97, 3-130, 4-231, 5-295, 6-306, 7-337, 8-345, 9-370.
DID NOT BAT: S.L. Malinga.
BOWLING: Syed Rasel 19.2-2-67-2 (9nb); Shahadat Hossain 20-0-75-2 (3nb, 1w); Mohammad Rafique 37-9-114-5; Enamul Haque Jr 33-8-106-0 (8nb); Mohammad Ashraful 1-0-2-0.
BANGLADESH (2nd Innings):
Javed Omar c Sangakkara b Malinga 9
Shahriar Nafees b Muralitharan 13
Habibul Bashar not out 13
Mohammad Ashraful lbw b Muralitharan 0
Tushar Imran not out 0
EXTRAS (NB-1) 1
TOTAL (for three wkts, 9 overs) 36
FALL OF WKTS: 1-9, 2-35, 3-35.
BOWLING (to-date): Vaas 4-2-13-0; Malinga 3-0-22-1 (1nb); Muralitharan 1-1-0-2; Herath 1-0-1-0.—Agencies
