CHATTOGRAM: Sri Lankan seamers define the contest for the second Test series between these teams. In 2022, it was Asitha Fernando and Kasun Rajitha who took 24 wickets between them in the two-match series in Bangladesh. This time, Sri Lanka go to Chattogram with their fast bowlers taking all 20 wickets in Sylhet – the first time since 1986 that a Sri Lankan attack has achieved this.
Apart from the big win in Sylhet, Sri Lanka’s finding of a lower-middle-order batsman who has enjoyed instant success at the top level – Kaminda Mendis – will be a further boost.
However, it seems unlikely that the Chattogram pitch will bear much resemblance to the damp, seam-driven surface on which Sri Lanka trotted to a four-day victory. Chattogram pitches tend to be much better for batting and spinners tend to do well there. In this regard, Bangladesh will feel they have Sri Lanka covered.
Shakib Al Hasan’s return from an eye complaint that has kept him out of the tour so far will give them the most confidence. Not only is Shakib among their best batsmen, but he also has a wealth of experience as a bowler on board Chattogram, taking 64 wickets in 19 Tests – the most by any bowler on the ground. He is joined by Taijul Islam who has the second highest Chattogram wickets with 47 and Mehidy Hasan Miraz who is third with 34.
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Sri Lanka’s lead spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, meanwhile, will be playing only his fourth Test overseas and has four career wickets away from home. Offspin-bowling all-rounder Ramesh Mendis, who is most likely to make the XI if Sri Lanka opt for a second front-line spin option, is even more inexperienced overseas, having played just two away from home.
Sri Lanka have never lost a Test in Bangladesh and the victory in Sylhet was such that they will start the second Test with some confidence. However, Bangladesh will see the game in Sylhet as something of an aberration. In Chattogram with Shakib in their ranks, they will feel – and maybe be – a completely different team.
