Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh 2017: 1st Test day 1, 5 Talking Points
Sri Lanka wrestled the advantage on day 1 at Galle making 321/4 courtesy a fine partnership between Kusal Mendis and Asela Gunaratne, the former remaining unbeaten on 166 at stumps.
Bangladesh started their day well sending Upul Tharanga and Dimuth Karunaratne back to the pavilion pretty early. Mustafizur got rid of a stagnant Chandimal but Mendis was given a reprieve after he edged Roy behind, only for it to emerge that the bowler had overstepped.
Gunaratne carried his form into Test cricket and stroked a fine half-century while Mendis went on to register a hundred despite appearing below his best early on. The Bangladeshi bowlers bowled their heart out, especially Subashis Roy, but they will need early wickets tomorrow to remain in the game.
Brief Scores at end of day 1: Sri Lanka 321/4 (Mendis 166*, Gunaratne 85, Taskin Ahmed 1/48)
Here are the talking points from day 1 of the first Test at Galle.
#5 Upul Tharanga messes up comeback
Kaushal Silva's wretched form meant Upul Tharanga was recalled to open the innings in Tests. The veteran southpaw had been doing more than a decent job at the top in limited-overs cricket in recent times.
Silva, a pretty tight, defensive opener, had become a point of discussion after his miserable failures in the South African series and wasn't picked in the 15-member squad. Tharanga, Sri Lanka hoped, would carry forward his ODI form into the Tests, particularly since he wasn’t new to the task.
However, the opener left a huge gap between bat and pad and was cleaned up by Subashis Roy with a delivery that seamed in off the surface. A 14 ball 4 on comeback does not inspire much confidence but it's a little too early to write off Tharanga.