It was a difficult toss to win for visitors Bangladesh and they had opted to bat first. The last three Test matches at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele had been won by the teams batting first. It could have been a no-brainer for the visiting side during the toss who are searching for their second victory against Sri Lanka in this format of the game.
Bangladesh completely dominated the first session on Day 1. Even though they lost their opener, Saif Hassan, in just the second over for a 6-ball Duck, the experienced player Tamim Iqbal scored at a fast rate to help them score over 100 runs in the first session. Tamim Iqbal was batting on 65* while Najmul Hossain Shanto was on 37* as Bangladesh made 106/1 at the end of the first session. Sri Lankan pacer Vishwa Fernando bagged the only wicket to fall in this first session on Day 1.
Sri Lanka couldn’t make much impact in the second session as well apart from the dismissal of Tamim Iqbal. Vishwa Fernando was again the bowler to pick up this wicket. Tamim was dismissed on 90 putting an end to a brilliant 144-run stand for the second wicket. Apart from this lone wicket, Bangladesh dominated the session adding 94 runs to their team total. Najmul Hossain Shanto along with his captain Mominul Haque shared an unbeaten 48-run stand for the third wicket as Bangladesh got to 200/2 at Tea on this first day of the match.
Shanto along with his captain compounded the problems for Sri Lanka in the third session of the first day of this first Test match. The duo added 102 runs without losing any wickets taking Bangladesh to a commanding total of 302/2 at stumps on Day 1. In the process, Shanto (batting on 126*) got to his maiden Test hundred while Momimul Haque remained unbeaten on 64*. It has been a tough day for the Sri Lankan bowlers on the field. Both the wickets to fall in Bangladesh’s innings were picked up by Vishwa Fernando.
Brief Scores: Bangladesh – 302/2 (Najmul Hossain Shanto – 126*, Tamim Iqbal – 90, Vishwa Fernando – 2/61) at stumps on Day 1
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