The first Test between Bangladesh and visiting Sri Lanka of the two-match series ended in a draw at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium as both captains agreed to shake hands with only an hour remaining till stumps on Day 5. Bangladesh’s strong comeback in their second innings, led by Mominul Haque, helped the host to save the match.
The dependable batsman Mominul Haque’s second his Test hundred in one match and Liton Das’ career-best 94 have helped the Tigers finish the game in a draw. They put on 180 runs for the fourth wicket after Bangladesh resumed their second innings on the fifth Day with overnight score at 81/3.
Bangladesh went to tea at 281/5 with stand-in skipper Mahmudullah Riyad and Mosaddek Hossain unbeaten at the crease. Both batsmen were defensive after the tea break. Mosaddek took his first run on his 19th ball he faced.
The game was declared draw when Bangladesh were 307/5 in 100 overs. Mahmudullah remained not out on 28 runs off 65 balls including three fours while Mosaddek stayed with 8 off 53. The host were ahead by 107 runs.
Bangladesh scored their first innings at 513 runs after Mahmudullah won the toss in his debut Test captaincy match. Mominul scored 176 runs in the first innings and in reply Sri Lanka declared their first innings at 713/9 riding on three centuries courtesy by Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis and Roshen Silva.
Trailing by 200 runs Bangladesh stared their second innings with Mominul scored 105, becoming the first Bangladeshi to score hundreds in both innings of a Test match. He was later adjudged the player of the match for his impressive batting performance.
A total of 1533 runs were scored in this game, the third-highest aggregate in Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka Tests.
The second Test will begin from February 8 in Dhaka. The Tigers will be needed to at least draw that match to move to no.8 in Test rankings.
