SANGAKKARA, CHANDIMAL GUIDES
Kumar Sangakkara and Dinesh Chandimal cracked back to back tons after Bangladesh had taken the initiative in the morning session of play on day two of the second Test at the R. Premadasa Stadium helping Sri Lanka end the day on 294 for 6.
The pair joined when Sri Lanka was in a perilous position of 69 for 4 resuming from their overnight score 18 for 1 as Sri Lanka lost three quick wickets having faced just under 13 overs for the addition of only 51 runs.Sangakkara who cracked his third successive ton and in the process racing to the 33rd of his career became the second Sri Lankan batsman following Aravinda de Silva to make three consec- utive hundreds in a Test career.
Right arm pacie Abul Hasan made the early breakthrough when he got rid of opener Dimuth Karunaratne who seemed to be impatient in the sixth over of the morning session.
Dimuth was able to add only a further five runs from his overnight score of five. Bangladesh came into the game with three pacies and they succeeded in delivering the goods. After the dismissal of Dimuth the other two pacies Robiul Islam and Rubel Hossain struck.
Lahiru Thirmanne who was struggling a bit found his waterloo after facing 11 dot balls and became a victim of Islam being sent back to the pavilion having nicked a simple catch to keeper Rahim be- fore he could open his account.
Skipper Angelo Mathews too seemed unsettled and hopefully let it not be the pressure of responsibilities on his shoulders. Mathews faced 38 balls for his 16 before being dislodged by spinner Sohag Gazi.
The rescue act came thereafter with Sangakkara and Chandimal joining to deny further success the Bangladesh bowlers for a considerable period of time. Sri Lanka went into lunch having added 61 runs from the 23 overs they faced.
The post lunch session saw the pair frustrating the Bangladesh bowlers as they added a further 96 runs which also saw both reaching their half tons. Sri Lanka went into tea on 175 for 4 with Sangakkara and Chandimal on 75 and 53 respectively.
Bangladesh was hampered by the injury sustained to spinner Robiul Islam who did not come onto the field in the last session of play. Sri Lanka kept the momentum even after the tea break with the pair picking the runs at will.
Chandimal was a bit more aggressive than his senior partner but Sangakkara was the first to reach the ton with a couple off Sohag Gazi which took him 218 balls later Chandimal raced to his ton which came quicker in 172 balls.
The partnership of 195 valuable runs for the fifth wicket came to an end with the dismissal of Chandimal having made 102 with eight boundaries.
The partnership incidentally was fifth best for the fifth wicket for Sri Lanka in Tests with four of those being against Bangladesh and the best being of 280 runs between T.M. Dilshan and Thilan Samaraweera in 2005.
Kithruwan Vithange who came in next began his innings in a calypso style cracking two boundaries but that did not last long as he chased a wide delivery and only succeeded in lofting an easy catch to Monimul Haque at deep point.
Nuwan Kulasekera along with Sangakkara who remained unbeaten on 127 saw the day through.