Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis plays a shot during the first day of the second Test cricket match against Bangladesh in Chittagong on March 30, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

A top-order batting blitz brought Sri Lanka to 314-4 and left the tourists firmly in command of the second and final Test against Bangladesh on Saturday.

Kusal Mendis top-scored with 93 in Chittagong while openers Dimuth Karunaratne (86) Nishan Madushka (57) helping power the innings.

Dinesh Chandimal was batting on 34 alongside skipper Dhananjaya de Silva on 15 at stumps.

Bangladesh struggled to make an impact after being put in to bowl, with Sri Lanka batting through the morning session without losing a wicket.

Madushka was run out attempting a double shortly after lunch but Karunaratne and Mendis drove the tourists forward with a 114-run stand.

Hasan sent back Karunaratne, who chopped a delivery into the stumps, before the tea break.

He struck eight fours and a six in his 129-ball innings, surviving a run-out scare on 18 after a mix-up with Madushka while taking a single off Hasan Mahmud.

Shakib Al Hasan denied Mendis his 10th Test century, forcing an edge to Mehidy at second slip.

Hasan picked up his second wicket when Mehidy caught Angelo Mathews (23) from the same spot in the first over after the second new ball.

Chandimal struck two sixes to move past his early shakiness before helping Sri Lanka pass the 300-run mark with a four off Hasan.

Sri Lanka lead the two-match series 1-0 after winning the opening Test by a resounding 328 runs.

Veteran all-rounder Shakib returned for Bangladesh after a long Test absence, and the hosts also handed a debut to Mahmud.

Sri Lanka brought Asitha Fernando in for injured Kasun Rajitha in their only change to the squad from the opening Test.

Sri Lanka’s Kasun Rajitha celebrates after dismissing a wicket during the fourth day of the first Test against Bangladesh in Sylhet on March 25, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Kasun Rajitha claimed 5-56 as Sri Lanka bowled Bangladesh out for 182 in its second innings on March 25 to clinch a 328-run victory in the first Test.

Rajitha, who returned 3-56 in the first innings, finished with career-best match figures of 8-112 in a Test match.

Mominul Haque played a lonely defiant innings for the hosts, stranded on 87 from 148 deliveries when the final wicket fell in the middle session on Day 4. His innings contained 12 boundaries and a six.

Bangladesh was set an improbable 511-run victory target after Sri Lanka rode on centuries in each innings from Kamindu Mendis and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva.

Sri Lanka made early inroads in Monday’s morning session when Rajitha trapped Taijul Islam lbw for six in the second over after Bangladesh had resumed at 47 for five.

Mominul and Mehidy Hasan combined for a 66-run seventh-wicket stand, but Rajitha struck again to break up the partnership. Mehidy scored 33 from 50 deliveries before he played an expansive drive and got a thick outside edge.

Mominul also had a 47-run partnership with Shoriful Islam (12) for the eighth wicket, which only reduced the margin of the defeat.

Rajitha broke the partnership when he took a return catch to dismiss Shoriful. With his next delivery, he had Khaled Ahmed caught by Kusal Mendis for a duck to complete the second five-wicket haul in his test career.

Kumara, who returned figures of 2-39, ended Bangladesh’s innings by dismissing Nahid Rana for a duck.

Vishwa Fernando couldn’t add to his three-wicket haul from Day 3 and finished with figures of 3-36 from 15 overs.

After recovering from an early batting collapse at the start of the match, Sri Lanka posted 280 in the first innings with de Silva and Mendis each scoring 102.

After dismissing Bangladesh for 188, de Silva (108) and Kamindu (164) again hit centuries as Sri Lanka reached 418 in its second innings to set up victory. (AP) AYG

Bangladesh’s Najmul Hossain Shanto reacts after winning the second Twenty20 international cricket match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet on March 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto led from the front with an unbeaten half century as Bangladesh leveled the three-match T20 international series with an eight-wicket win against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Shanto hit a six off pacer Dasun Shanaka over deep backward square to bring up the victory as well as his fourth fifty as Bangladesh chased down Sri Lanka’s 165-5 with 170-2. He finished with a 38-ball 53, hitting four fours and two sixes. Towhid Hridoy was on 32 off 25 balls, including two fours and one six.

Hridoy and Shanto added 87 in an unbeaten third-wicket stand to hasten the victory. Bangladesh lost the first game by three wickets after a thrilling contest. The third and decisive game will be played Friday.

“I think it shows a lot of character (the way we came back) and how we bowled in these conditions,” Shanto said. “Really happy with the way we bowled.”

The hosts got off to a solid start, courtesy of openers Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar as they combined for 68 runs in 6.5 overs. Pacer Matheesha Pathirana broke the partnership when he had Sarkar (26) caught by Angelo Mathews at midwicket with a short ball. Pathirana’s short ball also accounted for the wicket of Das after his 24-ball 36.

Hridoy and Shanto then played sedately to bring up the victory in a comprehensive manner.

Bangladesh’s bowlers also put on a disciplined show after Shanto sent Sri Lanka in to bat first.

The Sri Lankan openers took eight balls to open the scoreboard. Fast bowler Taskin Ahmed removed Avishka Fernando with a return catch for a seven ball-duck but Kusal Mendis and Kamindu Mendis put on 66 runs to bring the side back in the contest.

The Bangladeshi bowlers regrouped well and further established their dominance, taking wickets in quick succession. Soumya Sarkar dismissed Kusal for 36 before Kamindu was trapped run out after making a team-high 37. Mustafizur Rahman got the better of Sadeera Samarawickrama (7), who hit a half-century in the last match.

“We were short about 20-25 runs, and then Kamindu’s run out also played a huge part in the game,” Sri Lanka stand-in captain Charith Asalanka said. “As a batter we have to make big runs, especially in these conditions. Because it’s very hard for the bowlers to bowl in these conditions.”

Asalanka struck a typically aggressive 28 while Angelo Mathews hit a 21-ball 32 not out.

Mathews and Shanaka, who was unbeaten on 20, added 53.