ASHRAFUL, RAHIM BOOST BANGLADESH IN SRI LANKA TEST
It's up to us to break this partnership early in the morning and if we can get a couple of wickets the game can change quite quickly
Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim cashed in on a flat and slow batting track to hit scintillating big hundreds in a record breaking partnership as Bangladesh hit back in style to make 438 for 4 in reply to Sri Lanka’s 570 for 4 on the third day of the first cricket Test here in Galle yesterday.
Ashraful smashed an unbeaten 189, the highest ever individual Test score by a Bangladesh batsman while skipper Rahim cracked 152 not out as they put on a record unbroken stand of 261 for the fifth wicket to send the hosts on a leather hunt during two wicketless sessions after lunch..
Both batsmen were hardly troubled by the Sri Lankan attack which was made to look moderate at best as the pair scored runs at will, exhibiting some magnificent strokeplay during their complete domination while plethora of records fell in the process.It was Bangladesh's highest partnership for any wicket in Tests eclipsing a 200 runstand for the second wicket between Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique against India in Dhaka in 2010. This was also the highest Test score made by Bangladesh against Sri Lanka surpassing their previous best of 413.
Bangladesh total surpassed their previous highest Test score outside Bangladesh while the Ashraful-Rahim stand is the highest for any wicket in Galle taking over from 230 put on by Marvan Atapattu and Aravinda de Silva against England in 2001.
Former skipper Ashraful who resumed the day on 65, made it a memorable comeback Test after more than an year in the wilderness, slamming a six and 20 boundaries in a 398-ball stay to underline his class and also a fondness for Sri Lankan bowling. It was his sixth Test century and interestingly five of those have come against Sri Lanka.
The previous highest individual score by a Bangladeshi was Ashraful’s 158 not out against India at Chittagong nearly nine years ago in 2004.
Ashraful whose career has been marked by inconsistency was thankful for the opportunity he got to play, and made it clear he desperately seeks a double century today. "I made 35 runs in the second session today but it wasn't boring. I told myself that this is
test cricket. I enjoyed every moment of it. I am just thankful that they selected me. I am just 11 runs away, I want to be the first Bangladeshi to score a doublecentury" said the 28year old right hander.
"This is the first time I spent so much time in the nineties and I felt like batting all day," added Ashraful who last played a Test in December 2011 and was picked for this tour only due to an injury to the regular Shariar Nafees.Rahim also provided crisp strokes to match Ashraful, cracking 18 fours and one six in his 236-ball knock.
Bangladesh who were 135 for 2 overnight, lost two quick wickets in the morn- ing inside 11 overs, but Ashraful and Rahim then took the local bowlers by the scruff of their neck to guide the visiting side to a comfortable position, just 132 runs short of Sri Lanka’s mammoth score.
Debutant Mominul Haque who made 55 off 83 balls with nine fours was the first to be dismissed in the morning when he was caught at first slip by skipper Angelo Mathews off paceman Nuwan Kulasekara following a 105-run third wicket stand with Ashraful.
In the very next over left arm spinner Rangana Herath struck another blow removing Mahmudullah stumped for a duck as the visitors slipped to 177-4.
Coach Graham Ford said that Sri Lanka’s plans did not work yesterday. "When we came to the ground this morning we were hoping for a better day but all credit to Bangladesh and those two batsmen particularly, they batted superbly and played Bangladesh into a pretty strong position," said Ford. "It's up to us to break this partnership early in the morning and if we can get a couple of wickets the game can change quite quickly."