Key Points

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto joined elite company with centuries in both innings, only the 15th batter to achieve this feat. Sri Lanka's middle-order held firm despite losing four wickets in the final chase of 296. Spinners Taijul Islam and Nayeem Hasan threatened but couldn't break the Dhananjaya-Kamindu resistance. The match ended in a tense draw with Sri Lanka surviving 32 overs on the final day.

Key Points: Shanto's twin tons not enough as Sri Lanka draw Bangladesh Test

  • Shanto became the 15th batter to score twin Test tons
  • Sri Lanka survived late scare with Dhananjaya-Kamindu partnership
  • Taijul Islam took 3/23 in final innings
  • Pathum Nissanka's 187 anchored Sri Lanka's first innings
3 min read

Bangladesh skipper Shanto's twin tons in vain as 1st test against Sri Lanka ends in draw

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto's historic twin centuries couldn't force a win as Sri Lanka batted out a tense final session to secure a draw in Galle.

"Shanto's back-to-back tons were special, but Sri Lanka's resilience denied Bangladesh victory – Match Analyst"

Galle, June 21

Sri Lanka batted out 32 overs in the final session of Day 5 to ensure the first Test in Galle ended in a draw, against Bangladesh, but it wasn't a result without minor jeopardy, as Sri Lanka lost four wickets on the way before Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis shut up shop for good.

The teams shook hands with five overs left to play in the day, with Dhananjaya de Silva and having played out 53 balls in their partnership.

During a run-chase of 296 runs, Dhananjaya and Kamindu had come together after Sri Lanka had lost both Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal in quick succession, both to the excellent Taijul Islam, who ended on figures of 3 for 23.

But despite Taijul and Nayeem Hasan's best efforts, it was clear the remaining six wickets would not fall before the 37 overs were up.

Bangladesh played out 11 overs in the post-lunch session, added 48 runs and asked Sri Lanka to chase down a target of 296 off 37 overs - at a required rate of eight an over - if they wanted to steal an unlikely win.

Those 37 overs might have been more, but the primary goal of Bangladesh continuing to bat after the rain break seemed to be for Najmul Hossain Shanto to get to his second century of the game - it was the third instance of a Bangladeshi batter scoring two centuries in the same Test, and the second time Shanto had accomplished the feat, the 15th batter ever to do the unique double.

It took 50 deliveries after the restart for Shanto to get to the milestone, during which Bangladesh had scored just 19 runs and lost the wickets of Litton Das and Jaker Ali - both succumbed to the growing turn on offer, and frustration with defensive lines down leg.

In the next 17 balls, though, Bangladesh ransacked 29 - including a trio of sixes from Shanto down the ground off the spinners.

Earlier in the match, Bangladesh finished their first innings on 495, Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim both scoring a ton. Asitha Fernando was the pick of the bowlers for SL, grabbing four wickets.

Sri Lanka finished their first innings on 485, trailing behind 10 runs in the first innings. SL batter Pathum Nissanka played of the best innings of his life as he made 187 runs in 256 balls, Bangladesh spinner Nayeem Hasan took a fifer to bowl out SL. Shanto was awarded man of the match for his centuries in both innings.

Brief score: Sri Lanka 485 and 72/4 ( Pathum Nissanka 24, Dhananjaya de Silva 12; Taijul Islam 3/23). Vs Bangladesh 495 & 285/6d ( Najmul Hossain Shanto 125*, Shadman Islam 76; Tharindu Rathnayake 3/102).

- ANI

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Reader Comments

R
Rahul K.
Shanto's performance was brilliant, but I feel Bangladesh missed a trick by not declaring earlier. The pitch was turning square on Day 5 - could have given their spinners 10-15 more overs to create magic. Still, great fight from both teams! 🇧🇩🤝🇱🇩
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Priya M.
As an Indian cricket fan, it's wonderful to see our neighbors playing such competitive Test cricket. Nissanka's 187 was pure class - reminds me of some of Dravid's marathon knocks. Hope Bangladesh gets more overseas Tests in future!
A
Arjun S.
Taijul Islam bowled his heart out! 3/23 in the 4th innings on a flat Galle track is no joke. But honestly, Test matches in Sri Lanka need more result-oriented pitches. Too many draws these days yaar.
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Sanjana R.
Shanto becoming only the 15th batter to score twin tons in a Test is huge! But why isn't anyone talking about Nayeem Hasan's fifer? Spinners from subcontinent countries keep proving why Test cricket is the ultimate format. More power to both teams!
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Vikram J.
Respect to both teams for playing proper Test cricket. But ICC should really look at having reserve days for Tests in rainy seasons. So much play was lost in this match - could have been a cracking finish otherwise!
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Neha P.
The real winner here was Test cricket! After all the T20 leagues, it's refreshing to see such an engrossing 5-day contest. Hope Bangladesh gets to host more Tests too - their fans deserve it after years of improvement.

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