Dhaka – Sri Lanka strengthened their grip on the Test through steady accumulation, aided by a series of let-offs that allowed Kaushal Silva score his maiden Test century.Bangladesh needed to grasp all opportunities given their first-innings score of 232 that appeared inadequate after the opening day, but their performance in the field failed to complement the efforts of their seamers, particularly Al-Amin Hossain, who toiled with little luck.
Sri Lanka stretched their lead to 143 and focused on grinding out the opposition to a position which would give them the luxury of batting just once.
Silva displayed one of his biggest strengths – patience, and his ability to occupy the crease would have been deflating enough for Bangladesh, if the three let-offs weren’t bad enough. Silva’s stint could have ended on 39 – he went on to add exactly 100 more, by which time he had already shared two century stands, with Dimuth Karunaratne and Kumar Sangakkara. – UNB
