Ahead of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka got a two-day practice match at BKSP. But the most part of the first day of this match was washed away due to persistent rain.
The umpires called off the day after 8.3 overs. Sri Lanka were batting at 14 for one Asitha Fernando and Kusal Mendis were at the crease for 7 and 5 respectively.
Mukidul Islam bagged the only wicket that Sri Lanka have lost so far.
According to the Met office forecast, the rain will continue on Wednesday and it’s unlikely for Sri Lanka to have an ideal practice match.
The first Test of the series is scheduled to begin on May 15 in Chattogram. The Bangladesh team is already in the port city and they are gearing up for the series.
The second Test of the series will be played in Dhaka from May 23.
Both of these matches are parts of the ongoing cycle of the ICC World Test Championship.
Bangladesh played six matches in this event so far and won only a match against New Zealand earlier this year. However, they failed to continue on a good run in South Africa, where they suffered two big defeats to the hosts despite showing some decent cricket in the ODI series.
Critics say that Bangladesh’s win over New Zealand early this year was a fluke affair. The onus is now on the Tigers to prove them wrong in the upcoming series against a familiar opponent.
While Bangladesh lost their last series to South Africa, Sri Lanka lost their last to India. So the upcoming series is a great chance for both teams to regain their confidence and get back to the winning streak.
Upon their arrival, Sri Lanka’s assistant coach Naveed Nawaz said that this series is going to be a tough one for them. But he also said that his team is upbeat to pose a strong challenge to the hosts as a few members of their team have recently played in Dhaka which will surely help them to perform well.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s biggest concern is the form of the batters like Mominul Haque and Mushfiuqr Rahim.
Mominul failed to reach a double-digit total in his last five Test innings while Mushfiqur, one of the mainstays of Bangladesh in all formats of the international cricket, scored only a fifty in his last eight innings with a duck and four single-digit scores.
Bangladesh will miss the service of Taskin Ahmed and Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the first Test as both of them are suffering from different injuries. To replace Taskin, BCB called up two uncapped pacers and to replace Mehidy, Nayeem Hasan got a recall.
Source: United News of Bangladesh