Maiden centuries each from Shamsur Rahman and Imrul Kayes helped Bangladesh to avoid the follow-on in the second and final Test against Sri Lanka in Chittagong on Thursday.
Bangladesh, replying to Sri Lanka’s massive first innings total of 587, were 409-8 at stumps on the third day of the second and final Test in Chittagong.
Shamsur Rahman (106) and Imrul Kayes (115) put on mammoth 232 for the second wicket before both were bowled by Ajantha Mendis.
It was truly an amazing comeback by the bottom-placed Test side that has sufferd 14 defeats in 15 matches against Sri Lanka with one draw.
But the Sri Lanka came back in the match with four wickets in the final session after Bangaldesh were sitting pretty at one stage on 319/4 means that the host still trail by 178 runs with just two wickets in hand.
Rahman and Kayes, who came together when Tamim Iqbal was dismissed without a run on the board on Wednesday afternoon, played with authority as they put on Bangladesh’s highest second-wicket stand of 232.
Rahman, who was only playing his second Test, scored 106 and left-handed Kayes, who was making a comeback into the national team after two years, celebrated with 115 to lift Bangladesh to 232-1 soon after lunch.
The duo surpassed their side’s previous best partnership for the second wicket of 200 by Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Seddiqi against India in Dhaka in 2010, but they gave away their wickets with rash strokes.
Sri Lanka’s most impressive spinner Ajantha Mendis bowled both batsmen and Kayes had to be taken off the field on a stretcher after pulling a hamstring as he stepped out to loft the ball.
Sri Lanka sliced then kept on chipping awa with wickets of Bangladesh middle order before Shakib Al Hasan retrieved the situation with a half-century and Nasir Hussain chipped in with 42.
Mendis dismissed Nasir and Sohag Gazi off successive deliveries, but Al Ameen Hussain prevented a hat-trick by defending the next ball.
At the close, Mohammad Mahmudullah was unbeaten on 30 and Al Ameen was on three.
Sri Lankan seamer Nuwan Pradeep conceded as many as 13 no-balls in figures of 0-96 from just 15 overs. Mendis took 4/84 and off-spinner Dilruwan Perera claimed 3/119.
Sri Lanka won the first Test by an innings and 248 runs in Dhaka last week.
