Shadman Islam Stands by Bangladesh Batters After Day 1 Setbacks vs. Sri Lanka

Shadman Islam, the opening batsman for Bangladesh, has voiced his support for the team's batting lineup following a difficult first day in the second Test match against Sri Lanka.

Shadman led Bangladesh with a score of 46 on a rain-affected first day © AFP

Despite several Bangladesh batsmen making starts, none were able to convert them into substantial scores. Poor shot selection contributed to Bangladesh's struggles as they concluded the first day, which was disrupted by rain.

Shadman Islam was the highest scorer with 46 runs. Other batsmen, including Mominul Haque (21), Mushfiqur Rahim (35), Litton Kumar Das (34), and Mehidy Hasan (31), showed promise but failed to capitalize on their starts. After weathering the initial challenges, they succumbed to loose shots.

"You cannot score runs without playing shots. We played shots in Galle too where those ended in boundaries. But unfortunately, maybe it was not our day today," Shadman stated to reporters after the day's play.

He dismissed any notion of deliberately trying to accelerate the scoring rate, saying, "Nothing like that (trying to score at a good pace). Maybe some shots were wrong. It's part of cricket."

Shadman commented on the pitch conditions, "I think the wicket was a little bit slow. There was no movement in the morning but we threw our wickets away but hopefully we won't do that in the second innings."

He also suggested that the interruptions due to rain affected the team's performance, as batsmen had to rebuild their innings after losing momentum.

"The batters need to get set again after a break. Maybe it played a role," Shadman explained. "No one wants to get out intentionally. Maybe it was a bad day for us."

Shadman defended the captain's choice to bat first, maintaining that a total of around 270 to 280 runs would be competitive on the slow surface at the SSC.

"No, I haven't seen anything like that from which we can say that the decision was wrong [opting to bat first]. The wicket was a bit slow. I hope 270-280 is a good score. If we can bowl well, we will make a comeback Insha'Allah," he asserted.

He added, "If we can bowl in good areas, then we can make a comeback as there's help on the wicket."

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's bowling coach, Thilina Kandamby, expressed his surprise at the pitch's behavior at the SSC.

He mentioned that the surface behaved differently from what he had experienced during his 15-year playing career.

"It's quite an unusual wicket at the SSC. Normally, you get true bounce here, but today it was a bit two-paced. The pace and bounce weren't consistent, and the ball came off the surface slower than we expected," Kandamby said.

"The fast bowlers really showed character. They picked up key wickets and kept us in the game," he added.

"They (fast bowlers) focused heavily on fitness and bowling workloads, and the coaches have monitored them closely. That work is showing now," he said, adding that he is expecting out of form to come back good sooner than later.

"Prabath is slightly out of form, but we believe in his experience. I'm confident he'll bounce back," he said.