Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis played a strong hand in the first innings of the second Test against Bangladesh as he helped the team extend its lead further. Mendis slammed his 22nd Test fifty, following a century from Pathum Nissanka and a 93 from Dinesh Chandimal.
After bowling Bangladesh out cheaply for 247 at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, the hosts punched their reply strongly. Nissanka, who had slammed 187 in the first Test, went on to put another pretty strong knock, this time hitting 158 to provide the hosts with a robust platform. He partnered with Dinesh Chandimal for a 194-run stand for the third wicket as they took the score past Bangladesh's first innings score. Chandimal missed out on a hundred, falling for 93 with Nayeem Hasan getting him caught by Litton Das.
Meanwhile, Mendis was also eyeing a hundred, but fell short on 84 after getting run out. However, Mendis' knock has propelled him past Romesh Kaluwitharana in the list of most fifties by a Sri Lankan wicketkeeper in international cricket.
This was his 32nd fifty as wicketkeeper across the three formats, which sends him to the second spot on this list. The 30-year-old Mendis is now only behind Kumar Sangakkara in this list.
Most fifties by Sri Lankan wicketkeepers in international cricket:
1 - Kumar Sangakkara: 107 fifties
2 - Kusal Mendis: 32 fifties
3 - Romesh Kaluwitharana: 31 fifties
4 - Niroshan Dickwella: 30 fifties
5 - Dinesh Chandimal: 21 fifties
Following Mendis' dismissal, the hosts were bowled out without adding a run to their score of 458 as Taijul Islam removed Asitha Fernando to get to his five-wicket haul. The hosts have taken a big lead of 211 in the first innings, something which Mendis was confident about.
Mendis was pretty confident of Sri Lanka getting a lead of around 150-200. "We are in a very good position, and tomorrow we have to bat the whole day. We will try to get a lead of 150 to 200. We hope the wicket will spin on the final two days," Kusal said after the second day's play.
"We're planning to score as much as possible - get something over 400. Hopefully, we can do that tomorrow. The grass has dried out, footmarks are forming, and I expect it to turn more. We are not looking to bat in the fourth innings. We want to bat deep now and put them under pressure," he added.
