Sri Lanka trounce Bangladesh by massive 328 runs in first Test

• Picks up first points in ICC World Test Championship following win with second biggest margin
• Rajitha takes five as pace trio take all 10 wickets in both innings

Sri Lanka picked up their first points in the ICC World Test Championship when they trounced Bangladesh by a massive 328 runs to win the first Test of the two-match series with more than a day to spare at Sylhet, Monday. 

It was the second biggest margin of victory for Sri Lanka in terms of runs after the 465-run win over the same opponents at Chattogram in 2009.

Faced with the insurmountable task of chasing 511, Bangladesh batting in the second innings was all at sea being reduced to 51-6 and the writing was on the wall for them. Only Mominul Haque displayed the grit and determination which his team mates lacked to keep the game going until the fourth afternoon scoring an undefeated 87 off 148 balls (12 fours, 1 six) to delay the inevitable. But the end was never far away as the Lankan speedsters chipped away at the wickets from the other end.

Kasun Rajitha took two wickets in two balls to hasten the victory charge and ended with his second five-wicket innings haul in a Test in his 18-match Test career. His only previous five-fer was also against Bangladesh (5/64) at Mirpur in 2022. Bangladesh were eventually all out for 188 as Sri Lanka completed a dominant performance in the Test.

Tottering at 57-5 after being inserted on a grassy surface on the first day Sri Lanka came back strongly riding on the back of two magnificent century partnerships between skipper Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis who both made a century in each innings of the Test to swing the match Sri Lanka’s way. The turning point for Bangladesh was the dropped catch at slips offered by Kamindu Mendis in the first innings off the first ball he received. From that point onwards Bangladesh were always chasing Sri Lanka on a variable surface where all 20 wickets were taken by the fast bowlers. Rajitha finished with a match bag of eight wickets, Vishwa Fernando seven and Lahiru Kumara five.

The result lifted Sri Lanka from the bottom of the WTC standings to joint-sixth with Bangladesh. Sri Lanka were at the bottom with 0 points while Bangladesh were at No.4 with 12 points after two games and a points percentage of 50.

The outcome resulted in Sri Lanka securing 12 points in three games and a points percentage of 33.33, ahead of South Africa (25%) and England (17.50%), who are currently at the bottom of the table. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka both have the same number of points (12) and points percentage (33.33) at joint-sixth.

Captain Dhananjaya de Silva who took the Player of the Match award expressed his happiness the way he and his team performed to win a Test match outside Sri Lanka.

“The wicket had something for the fast bowlers. Kamindu and I talked about playing late and restricting some shots. Kamindu batted really well in his comeback Test match. That’s what I wanted from the No. 7. In the second innings, there was not much help like in the first innings but our bowlers kept hitting the right areas and it paid off.”

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto gave credit to De Silva and Kamindu Mendis the way they batted in both innings of the Test and added: “Our new-ball bowlers started really well, I’m proud of them. The wicket was good, there was movement early on. We have to improve our new-ball batting. A lot of work has to be done before the next Test. When we go to Chittagong, we will have a plan and hopefully, we will do better. Mominul played an outstanding knock under pressure and hopefully, he will continue for us this way.”

The second Test starts at Chattogram on Saturday 30 March.