Bangladesh passed a rare day of dominance in Test cricket as their batsmen dictated terms throughout the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka reaching 302-2 at stumps at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
Nazmul Hossain Shanto was the star of the opening day, bringing up his maiden Test ton and remaining unbeaten on 126 after Tamim Iqbal showed the way earlier on the day with a brisk 90.
Skipper Mominul Haque, who took the brave decision to bat first on a pitch that had a green tinge, ended the day on 64 not out alongside Nazmul.
Sri Lankan bowlers toiled hard but could hardly test the Bangladeshi batsmen with pacer Vishwa Fernando being the only successful bowler on the day with figures of 2-61.
But the day had begun in an ominous way for the Tigers as they lost opener Saif Hassan in the second over for a duck.
Saif missed a straight delivery which crashed into his pads and although the on-field umpire ruled in favour of the batsman, the Sri Lankan players referred the decision and the TV umpire rightfully reversed the verdict.
But Saif’s early departure didn’t deter Tamim, who had begun his innings with two fours in the first over, as the left-hander continued batting positively.
Tamim reached his 29th fifty in Tests in just 51 deliveries and along with Nazmul ended the first session on 106-1.
However, their partnership could’ve ended in the morning session, had wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella not missed Nazmul’s catch off Dhananjaya de Silva when he was batting on 28.
The pair continued their good work after the resumption of play, with Tamim being the aggressor of the two.
Tamim looked set to bring up his 10th Test ton but ended up giving away his wicket against the run of play.
Tamim tried to guide a ball through the third-man area but ended up edging it and Lahiru Thirimanne took a sharp diving catch at slip to end his innings and also end the second wicket partnership of 144 runs.
Mominul then joined Nazmul at the middle and the left-handed duo made sure no more wickets fell in the session as Bangladesh went into the Tea break on 200-2.
The scoring rate dropped in the final session as the Sri Lankan bowlers pulled up their socks and bowled in better areas but Nazmul and Mominul didn’t allow them to make any inroads.
Nazmul was extra cautious as he approached his maiden Test ton and the momentous moment for the 22-year-old finally came in the 74th over when he played an expansive drive through the cover region off off-spinner Dhananjaya to fetch four runs.
Mominul also ended his drought of fifty-plus scores outside of Bangladesh when he brought up his 14th Test fifty, his first in overseas in over three years.
Nazmul and Mominul made sure Bangladesh didn’t lose any wicket in the final session and extended their third-wicket stand to 150 runs, placing Bangladesh in a position of strength after the opening day.
