Lankans lead by 231 with 5-wkt in hand

Sri Lanka gave little away in yet another session in which they easily dominated with the bat, stretching their total to 512 for the loss of five wickets in 49.0 overs at the end of the first session in the third day’s play in the first cricket Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Wednesday. The total gave the visitors a comfortable 231-run lead over the hosts with five wickets remaining in the first innings. An earlier report said, neither pace nor spin worked for Bangladesh, and their frustration in not being able to pick up wickets was summed up in one small passage of play in which Robiul Islam exchanged words with Mahela Jayawardene, who continued to milk the bowling in placid conditions. The third morning was relatively sunny compared to the second, when the Bangladesh seamers posed questions. There was no seam movement this morning to keep the bowlers interested so it was down to the spinners to exploit a third-day pitch. Shakib Al Hasan got one to turn, kick up and square up Angelo Matthews but that was one of the few moments where Bangladesh looked like picking up a wicket. Mathews used his feet against Shakib and lofted him over wide long-on to bring up a 150 lead before Jayawardene brought up his fifty with an effortless cover drive off Al-Amin Hossain. Shakib couldn’t sustain the pressure and was pounded over deep midwicket by Jayawardene and slashed past point by Mathews when he dropped it short. Robiul dished out a short ball to Jayawardene, who miscued the pull and the mercury rose when they crossed paths. Jayawardene, who of late has shown the tendency to not back down from a scrap, gestured towards the bowler and the eye contact continued till the end of the over. Mushfiqur Rahim stepped in to appease Jayawardene but it appeared as if the issue was settled amicably. Bangladesh ended the session without a wicket, while Sri Lanka looked to extend their lead to 350 and possibly beyond, according to cricinfo.