SL vs BAN 1st Test, Day 3: Dimuth Karunaratne steady Sri Lanka after Bangladesh make crucial inroads

Dimuth Karunaratne was not out on 85 as Sri Lanka ended the third day on 229 for 3, 312 behind Bangladesh’s first-innings total of 541 for 7 at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele.

Thirimanne fell prey to Mehidy Hasan and then Oshada Fernando and Angelo Mathews began well but failed to convert their good starts into big scores and they departed in the 20s. Karunaratne then found support in the form of Dhananjaya de Silva (26*) as they saw Sri Lanka to stumps at 229/3.

Earlier, Bangladesh resumed the third day at 474//4 with Mushfiqur and Liton at the crease. The batsman picked up where they left off, adding a quick-fire 37 runs to their day two partnership. Rahim brought up his half-century a calculated knock; Liton, on the other hand, registered up his half-century in a much quicker fashion, taking only 67 balls. The partnership helped push Bangladesh’s total past the 500-run mark.

In reply, Sri Lanka got off to a steady start. Thirimanne was nervy at the beginning, surviving a couple of close calls. But he and Karunaratne managed to survive and take the team through to lunch without losing any wickets. Day 4 will most probably determine the fate of the game as it is notable that some overs were lost on day 2 thanks to the rain.

Brief Scores: Bangladesh 541 for 7 dec (Najmul Hossain Shanto 163, Mominul Haque 127; Vishwa Fernando 4/96) lead Sri Lanka 229/3 (Dimuth Karunaratne 85*, Lahiru Thirimanne 58; Taskin Ahmed 1/35) by 312 runs