Mushfiqur, Litton take Bangladesh close to first-innings lead

By Chris On May 18, 2022

Lunch Bangladesh 385 for 3 (Litton 88*, Mushfiqur 85*, Rajitha 2-31) trail Sri Lanka 397 (Mathews 199, Chandimal 66, Nayeem 6-105) by 12 runs

Mushfiqur Rahim became the first Bangladesh cricketer to reach 5000 runs in Test cricket as the hosts continued to surge ahead on the fourth day of the first Test in Chattogram. Mushfiqur began the day just 15 runs adrift of the 5000-run mark and reached the milestone with a deflection off his gloves down to fine leg in the 123rd over of the innings, shortly after the drinks break.

Mushfiqur was ably supported by Litton Das, who continued his rich vein of form in Test cricket to take Bangladesh to 385 for 3 at lunch, just 12 short of Sri Lanka’s first-innings total of 397. At the interval, Litton was unbeaten on 88 and Mushfiqur on 85 as Sri Lanka endured yet another wicketless session.

The start of the day was delayed by 30 minutes because of rain but once play resumed, with Bangladesh on 318 for 3, Litton and Mushfiqur picked up from where they had left on the third evening. Despite the impending milestone, Mushfiqur at no point looked frazzled and went about his work with grit and patience. Litton too curbed his aggressive style of play and adopted a more defensive approach.

Litton started the day with an imperious cover-drive off Ramesh Mendis, but Bangladesh managed just three fours in the first session, scoring 67 runs in 27 overs. Having said that, at no point did the batters look out of place. The Sri Lanka bowlers bowled tighter lines but lacked the bite and could not get much out of the surface.

There was a loud lbw shout from Ramesh against Litton as the ball gripped and turned to beat the batter’s defence, but the trajectory was always taking it down the leg side. Sri Lanka opted for their third and final review of the innings but to no avail.

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