Sri Lanka openers reduce deficit to 75 runs vs Bangladesh

Colombo, March 17 (IANS) Sri Lanka openers Upul Tharanga and Dimuth Karunaratne whittled down the first innings deficit to 75 runs as the hosts reached 54/0 in their second essay at stumps against Bangladesh at the P. Sara Oval here on Friday.

Bangladesh rode on veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan's brilliant 116 and vital contributions from Mosaddek Hossain (75), Mushfiqur Rahim (52), Soumyo Sarkar (61) to post a mammoth 467 in their first innings in reply to Sri Lanka's 338.

Lankan skipper Rangana Herath (4/82) and chinaman Lakshan Sandakan (4/140) shared eight wickets between them as the visitors fell in the final session of Day 3, according to a bdnews24.com report.

Shakib reached his fifth Test century off 143 deliveries cracking 10 boundaries. He stitched up a sparkling 131-run stand with Mosaddek for the seventh wicket to put Bangladesh in charge. The ace all-rounder was dismissed by Sandakan just before tea.

But Mosaddek continued the charge at the other end with a stroke-filled half-century and added 33 more with Mehedi Hasan Miraz (24) before Herath landed a double blow to cut the lower order resistance short.

Mosaddek hit seven boundaries and two sixes in his 155-ball innings before being the last man to fall in the final session.

Earlier, a 92-run recovery stand between Shakib and Mushfiqur helped the tourists score 102 runs in the morning session after a dismal final session on Thursday.

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 338, 54/0 (Upul Tharanga 25 not out, Dimuth Karunaratne 25 not out) vs Bangladesh 467 (Shakib Al Hasan 116, Mosaddek Hossain 75, Mushfiqur Rahim 52, Rangana Herath 4/82, Lakshan Sandakan 4/140).

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