Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh 2017: 1st Test, 5 Talking Points
Rangana Herath picked up six wickets in the second innings to clean up Bangladesh for 197 in the second innings at Galle to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Resuming at 67/0, Bangladesh lost the dynamic Soumya Sarkar in the second ball of the day and never recovered from then on, losing eventually by 259 runs.
Herath and Dilruwan Perera proved to be too hot to handle on a turning wicket and the visitors were bowled out in 61 overs. Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das and Mehedi Hasan were the only ones to cross double figures in the middle order.
Once Rahim was dismissed, Herath wasted no time to skittle out the tail and put an end to the declaration debate that grabbed headlines on day 4.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 494/10 (Mendis 194, Mehedi Hasan 4/113) and 274/6 decl (Tharanga 115, Mehedi Hasan 2/77); beat Bangladesh 312/10 (Rahim 85, Perera 3/53) and 197 (Sarkar 53, Herath 6/59) by 259 runs
Take a glance at the talking points from the 1st Test at Galle.
#5 Dilruwan Perera at seven is a feasible option
Sri Lanka walked into this Test match with just six main batsmen and the no. 7 spot was occupied by Dilruwan Perera, the off-spinner. He is no mug with the bat as he had already scored two half-centuries prior to this Test.
Perera enhanced his reputation with the willow in this Test, knocking a fine half-century in the first innings before playing with more freedom in the second innings and smashing a 27-ball 33. He was also tidy with the ball and picked up three crucial wickets in the first innings.
On a final day pitch in Bangladesh's second innings, he had Mominul Haque plumb in front before dismissing the set Tamim Iqbal in his very next over. If Perera can maintain his form with bat and ball, Sri Lanka can ponder the 6-5 combination in Tests.