Bangladesh senior assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin believes the opening Test in Galle remains finely balanced despite the visitors dominating the first two days with the bat, reports the Daily Sun.
Bangladesh ended Day Two on 484 for nine, having slumped from a commanding 458 for four late in the day, after centuries from Mushfiqur Rahim (163) and Najmul Hossain Shanto (148) laid a strong foundation.
Litton Das also returned to form with a fluent 90, but a late collapse — triggered by Sri Lanka’s reverse swing — saw Bangladesh lose five wickets for just 25 runs in the final hour.
“It is hard to tell who is in the driving seat,” Salahuddin told reporters after stumps.
“It depends on who is winning each session. We didn’t do well in the first session yesterday, and the last session today. We will try to control the match till the end, by winning each session.”
While Bangladesh built substantial partnerships through the top and middle order, Salahuddin felt the team missed out on an even bigger total due to poor shot selection late in the day.
“We batted really well in the first two sessions. We could have done better later. We still have a pretty good total. If we bowl well, I think we can control the game,” he said.
Sri Lanka struck back in the final session using reverse swing effectively, with debutant Milan Rathnayake and pacer Asitha Fernando sharing key wickets.
“I’ll take the positive from Sri Lanka’s bowling. They maintained the ball very well in that last session. If we can do the same, our fast bowlers can take advantage too,” Salahuddin added.
He praised Litton’s return to form and hailed the mental strength of Shanto, who batted through injury and recent criticism. “He’s a tough guy. Not many would keep their composure after so much trolling. Litton also came back strongly after a long lean patch — that’s a great sign for our dressing room.”
Bangladesh will resume Day Three with Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana at the crease, hoping to add crucial runs before unleashing their bowlers on a still-batting-friendly surface.
Bd-Pratidin English/ AM
