Sri Lanka Aims for Dominant Lead After Day 2 Batting Display Against Bangladesh

Sri Lanka Eyes Commanding Lead After Dominating Day 2 Against Bangladesh

Kusal Mendis, the Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batter, expressed confidence that securing a 150-200 run lead would place his team in a dominant position, especially with the expectation of spin playing a significant role in the final two days of the second Test.

Sri Lanka concluded Day 2 with a score of 290/2, propelled by Pathum Nissanka's outstanding unbeaten 146 and Dinesh Chandimal's impressive 93, establishing a 43-run lead in the first innings.

Mendis credited Nissanka for his brilliant batting display © AFP

"We are in a very good position, and our aim is to bat throughout the entire day tomorrow. Our goal is to establish a lead of 150 to 200 runs. We anticipate that the wicket will offer more spin on the last two days," Kusal Mendis stated after the second day's play.

He further added, "Our strategy is to accumulate as many runs as possible – aiming for a total exceeding 400. We are optimistic about achieving this tomorrow."

"The grass has dried up, and footmarks are becoming visible, leading me to believe that the pitch will offer increased turn. We are keen on avoiding batting in the fourth innings. Our current focus is on batting deep and putting pressure on the opposition," he elaborated.

Mendis lauded Nissanka for his exceptional batting performance and acknowledged the contribution of their pace bowlers, who were instrumental in dismissing Bangladesh for under 250 runs.

"It has been a pleasure to watch Pathum Nissanka bat. He has been in excellent form. Even in the previous series, he consistently scored runs. It was unfortunate that he missed the opportunity to score a double century in Galle, and I hope he achieves that milestone here. He has consistently been our top-performing batter across all three formats. He dedicates himself to improving his game, and that is clearly evident."

"Our fast bowlers executed our plans effectively. They maintained discipline in their lengths and lines. On a pitch that lacks significant pace, that is precisely what is required – not only with the new ball but also with the old ball. This is the best performance I have witnessed from our fast bowlers in Sri Lanka."

"We anticipated that the wicket would become slower and offer more turn. Our fast bowlers performed exceptionally well, and they deserve significant recognition. I anticipate that the conditions on Day Four will be significantly different from what we have observed thus far," he concluded.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh head coach Phil Simmons attributed their struggles to the batting unit's failure to form substantial partnerships, noting the significant change in the wicket's behavior during the second innings.

"Our missed opportunity lies in not establishing significant partnerships yesterday, which resulted in us entering today's play with only two or three wickets remaining."

"It all comes down to our batting performance and the partnerships that we failed to construct. At least two or three of our batters should have capitalized on their starts yesterday and achieved substantial scores. I hope we have observed Nissanka's excellent batting and that we approach the second innings with the objective of scoring big runs."

"The wicket undoubtedly improved as the first day saw it being somewhat sticky and two-paced. Today, it became significantly better, and we witnessed how comfortable it was for the batters. There wasn't as much turn as there was yesterday, and the batters capitalized on that. That's the nature of Test cricket sometimes," he concluded.