On the fourth day of the Test against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh showed dominance, taking a lead of 187 runs to take charge of the match.

By the end of the fourth day of the ongoing Test against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh has established control over the game. After avoiding the follow-on, the hosts batted in their second innings and ended the day with 177 runs for the loss of 3 wickets. This gave Bangladesh a lead of 187 runs combining both innings.

In the latter part of the day, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto showed great resilience with the bat. After a brilliant 148-run innings in the first innings, the left-handed batsman reached his personal half-century in the second innings as well. He reached his sixth Test fifty by hitting a boundary off Tharindu’s third ball of the 56th over. At the close of play, he remained unbeaten on 57 runs.

Earlier, Bangladesh’s lead crossed 150 runs in the final hour of the day. Bangladesh scored 151 runs in 51 overs in their second innings, holding a lead of 161 runs. Najmul Hossain (38) and Mushfiqur Rahim (14) were still at the crease.

The third wicket for Bangladesh fell in the 45th over of the innings when the well-settled Sadman Islam, after scoring 76 runs off 126 balls, was trapped LBW by Milan Rathnayake. His valuable 68-run partnership with Najmul Hossain was broken. Mushfiqur Rahim came to the crease after Sadman’s dismissal. He narrowly escaped a run-out at 4 runs when Dinesh Chandimal’s throw did not hit the stumps directly.

Sri Lanka, at the lunch break on the fourth day, had lost 6 wickets and scored 465 runs, still trailing by 30 runs.

Photo: Naeem Takes 5 Wickets with Brilliant Bowling (Collected)