KANDY: Praveen Jayawickrama’s six-wicket haul shaped Sri Lanka’s ascendancy over Bangladesh in the second Test in Pallekele on Saturday. The 22-year old left-arm spinner took the best figures for Sri Lanka on Test debut; his 6 for 92, including the big wickets of Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim. The stunning debut performance, which is better than Upul Chandana’s 6 for 179 against Pakistan in 1999, left the visitors trailing by 242 runs; Bangladesh losing their last seven wickets for 37 runs. Sri Lanka, however, didn’t enforce the follow-on and ended the day on 17 for 2, losing Lahiru Thirimanne and Oshada Fernando to Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam respectively.
The story of the day, however was Bangladesh’s collapse on either side of tea. They lost three big wickets in the space of 24 balls. Rahim was out in the last over before the break, lbw to Jayawickrama, after making 40. Shortly after the interval, Ramesh Mendis trapped Mominul Haque lbw on 48 with a full toss that struck him flush on the toe. Liton Das was next to go as he guided a sharp-turning Jayawickrama delivery to Lahiru Thirimanne at slip. Bangladesh’s lower-order caved in after that. Mehidy Hasan Miraz missed an arm-ball to give Jayawickrama his five-for, before he had Taskin Ahmed lbw off a review. The collapse ended in bizarre fashion when Taijul Islam was out hit wicket, when his shoe came off from his back foot.
Jayawickrama had taken away Bangladesh’s momentum in the first two sessions as well, with late strikes. He had Saif Hassan caught at gully for 25, to break a 98-run opening stand with Tamim Iqbal. Najmul Hossain Shanto fell next for a second duck in a row following his 163 in the first innings of the first Test. After Iqbal and Haque steadied the situation for just over an hour, Jayawickrama had the big fish when he had Iqbal caught at slip. Only a delivery earlier, he’d decided to change his angle and bowl from around the wicket. It undid Iqbal, who struck a 150-ball 92. Again towards the end of the second session, Jayawickrama struck. He hadn’t bowled all that well against Rahim, who struck him for six boundaries. But that was until the stroke of tea, when he slipped in an arm ball to trap him lbw. Rahim was out for a 62-ball 40. Apart from Jayawickrama’s six wickets, Mendis and Lakmal took two wickets each.