bangladesh vs sri lanka

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11 hours ago

bangladesh vs sri lanka

SL’s newest spinner brings two arms to a format with one foot out the door

The world’s freshest Test cricketer turned at the top of his mark and did something a little bit unique just as the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025–27 freshest cycle was about to enter its fourth hour.
In Test cricket, Tharindu Rathnayake had been a right-arm offspinner for his first 95 deliveries. However, Tharindu choose this time to almost instantly pull out his slow left-arm avatar, much like a magician who plunges into the hat and pulls out a new version of himself. The field hardly needed to move at all. Tharindu’s first ball of left-arm spin was reasonably clean. For a single, it was cut away behind square.

This squad felt fundamentally and unavoidably Sri Lankan after that initial intriguing instance of Tharindu’s ambidexterity. Tharindu seemed to be the newest member of a proud bowling rebellious tradition. Cricket delights such down-swinging round-arm yorkers (Lasith Malinga), wrist-spin offbreaks (Muthiah Muralidaran), and the carrom ball (Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath) were brought about by this heritage.

Sri Lanka is so ingrained in bowling oddities that Tharindu is merely the team’s second ambidextrous spinner. Kamindu Mendis has also spun with both arms in Test cricket. Thus, the number of dual-arm spinners in the XI is equal to the number of spinners who bowl with just the dull single arm.

In the event that Kamindu and Tharindu, whose forte is bowling, work together for a long time, they may be able to develop whole new areas of bowling analysis. We can find ourselves asking questions that have never been taken seriously in cricket.
With which arm does he take the most wickets? Which arm does he bowl more quickly with, and does this mean he’s more frugal? Is the ball turning away always more dangerous to right-handers, or does he obtain more right-hander wickets with that technique if it is proven that he is a superior offspinner?

Does he typically have a competitive edge when switching to his less-tired left arm after bowling nine offbreak overs in a row? And on pitches that have footmarks to work with, this guy will probably be unstoppable, right? The available lines of attack—whoa!
One of test cricket’s greatest advantages is that it provides perhaps the widest scope of any sport. What forms will emerge from the atypically wide brush of Tharindu?

Bangladesh was trying something similar, but on the batting front, while Sri Lanka is still trying to revitalize their spin bowling. The exodus is still going on. Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan, and Tamim Iqbal have already left. Of the original generation of Bangladeshi greats, only Mushfiqur Rahim is still alive. What will be the source of the regular huge runs?

Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim assisted Bangladesh in getting back on track. Getty Pictures
Najmul Hossain Shanto joined Mushfiqur on a voyage to triple digits on the opening day of the first Test at Galle, where Mushfiqur scored Bangladesh’s first-ever double-hundred in 2013. It appeared that Bangladesh had done a better job of replacing their greats.

However, the environment in which Test cricket players from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka play is progressively diminishing, despite their efforts to spread the game in their own small ways. Both Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews resigned this year in part because Sri Lanka won’t have any Test matches until May 2026 after this series concludes.
Although they also have non-WTC Tests against Ireland and Zimbabwe, Bangladesh only has 12 Tests (the minimum number) in their two-year World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. West Indies has 13 Test matches, including one against Ireland, whereas South Africa, the Test champion as of Saturday, has just 12. These sides only average seven Test matches a year, which is becoming more and more like a coup.

It is not argued that Test cricket is going extinct. In certain locations, it is in better health than ever before. The Ashes series has broken viewing records in both Australia and England this decade. The CEO of the ECB stated just last week that Test series against India were worth as much as the Ashes “in terms of commercial importance.”
Even though it was a beautiful victory, Virat Kohli stated that his beloved Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) was “five levels below Test cricket” after winning the IPL. However, there is also debate over what constitutes authentic Test cricket. For instance, 47% of Kohli’s Test matches were against England or Australia.

In essence, Test cricket has opted to build high instead of wide. Although there is less will, cricket has enough revenue that it might decide to shift to Test matches in countries other than the Big Three. To qualify, the WTC can mandate that each side play 16 Test matches during the cycle. Finally, the ICC may implement the “Test cricket fund,” which would allow the Big Three to contribute to Tests held in other Full Member nations. Rather, cricket has reached a point where England plays 60% more Test matches than the majority of other countries.
Players from nations that play less Tests point out that they have fewer opportunities to hone their Test skills, despite the fact that some argue that playing more Tests is a WTC disadvantage.

There is no concrete proof that teams with fewer Test matches have an advantage, but even if they did, they would still benefit very little from victory. There won’t be a home Test for South Africa’s men in the upcoming 15 months.
Places like Galle are starting to feel more and more like the hinterlands of Test cricket. When none of the Big Three teams are playing, does what happens here really matter? What will happen to Test matches like this one if cricket’s commercial worth continues to rise to the top of the hierarchy? And is your home cricketing economy’s size the best indicator of the prospects that await you?

Batsmen like Shanto could create fresh Bangladesh Test legacies, while bowlers like Tharindu might reinvent their art. However, they might never have the opportunity. How much does cricket actually care? These are the margins that could be reduced as long as the sport keeps consolidating dominance.

After going quite a while without Test centuries, what could Mushfiqur Rahim and Najmul Hossain Shanto have hoped for? Maybe a couple of useful pitches in Chattogram and Sylhet. However, those had passed. On Tuesday, Shanto and Mushfiqur overcame their losing streak under pressure on a Galle pitch that gave them freedom to play but also held them accountable for the fact that they couldn’t just play their shots easily.

Shanto had noted on the eve of the first Test match against Sri Lanka that Galle is at his peak as a batsman in the final few days before the spinners take over. However, ambidextrous spinner Tharindu Rathnayake and seamer Asitha Fernando struck early, reducing Bangladesh to 45 for 3 on the opening day itself. On 136 and 105, respectively, Shanto and Mushfiqur returned undefeated after adding 247 for the fourth wicket.

Mushfiqur scored his first century in 14 innings since August of last year, and it was his 12th Test century overall. 40 versus Zimbabwe was his highest score during this time. Mushfiqur recalled his debut innings in Galle, where he achieved Bangladesh’s first double-hundred in Test cricket, twelve years ago, during play on the opening day against Sri Lanka.

“I think I get a pretty good wicket every time I have played in Galle,” he stated. “I’ve observed that some of the other tests here have a lot of spinner purchases. We were aware that over the first two days in Galle, one of the seven batters needed to score.

In 2013, if my memory serves me correctly, [Mohammad] Ashraful bhai and I batted here all day. I told Shanto that we needed to bat all day, and it was also my goal this time.
Mushfiqur scored his second century in the island nation and his fourth versus Sri Lanka. He claimed to have spoken with his younger teammates what to anticipate from Sri Lankan pitches.
Mushfiqur remarked, “I [most] love playing in Sri Lanka after Bangladesh.” “Whether it’s the white or red ball, there’s always a sporty wicket.

Whether you are a spinner, fast bowler, or hitter, you can succeed if you use your strengths here. A handful of our young players who are participating in their debut Test match in Galle were told this by me.
“I enjoy playing with the wind. When the newer ball turns slightly or hits the older ball, I have to make adjustments. Playing in Galle is quite unique. I enjoy batting here.

Sri Lanka was deflated by Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim for centuries. The Associated Press
However, Mushfiqur admitted that he wasn’t feeling as at ease this time. Dhananjaya de Silva, the captain of Sri Lanka, frequently moved catchers about the field and asked bowlers to abandon their traditional lines.

Before hitting the three-figure mark in the 86th over, Mushfiqur spent 23 balls in the nineties.
“These runs are not simple. Since they weren’t providing me a freebie, I took a long time in the 1990s,” Mushfiqur remarked. It demonstrates that they are a difficult team to score against. They made astute field placements and bowling adjustments. When I am hitting with control, I have faith in my method. After two or three boundaries, our opponents typically send a fielder to the deep. Sri Lanka adjusts their fielding based on the circumstances. You must approach them with patience.

Mushfiqur maintained that he and Shanto were able to regain pressure on Sri Lanka by taking a lot of singles. He also commended Shanto for controlling the opposite end of the field without giving the opposition a sniff, as he reached his first Test century since November 2023.
“I think rotating the strike is important – maybe as much as hitting fours or sixes,” remarked Mushfiqur. “Bowlers have trouble with rotation of strike, particularly when there is a left-hander and a right-hander [combination] in the middle. Because the fielding side must constantly adjust their places, picking singles is crucial. We always train for this reason in order to stay in shape.

“Shanto has been playing well for a while now. His record in tests is good. He’s a competent batter. It wasn’t really noteworthy. Today, his control factor truly amazed me. I believed this was the best course of action, even if he scored a hundred in Kandy a few years ago. Playing a chanceless innings, when you have most of the control, is crucial. It will boost the confidence of the upcoming batters.
Bangladesh should try to capitalize on such a start by batting long on the second day, according to Mushfiqur.

“Clearly, it’s a worthwhile endeavor. After playing for your nation for so long, no one wants to receive any less runs,” he added. “You can’t score runs in every game, but if you keep doing the correct things, you should eventually achieve that huge score. You must be careful to make the most of it when it does occur. I am not finished yet. I’ll make the most of tomorrow.