Nayeem leaves Sri Lanka in trouble at lunch
Sports Desk
Bangladesh made a good start to the first Test, reducing Sri Lanka to 73-2 at lunch on the opening day of the match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on Sunday.
Offspinner Nayeem Hasan was the hero of the session, claiming all of those two fallen wickets.
Nayeem, playing his first Test since February last year, took the wicket of Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne and Oshada Fernando as Bangladesh went to lunch with happy mood. Kusal Mendis was batting on 27 with Angelo Mathews, yet to open his account at the first interval of the day.
Fernando made 36 with three fours and one six.
Sri Lanka opted to bat first after winning toss and Fernando looked solid but Nayeem troubled Karunaratne with his wily offspin. Specially his quicker delivery was tougher for Karunaratne to deal with.
He eventually had the Lankan captain leg-before with a quicker one for 9.
Fernando meanwhile found the boundaries at regular interval to keep Bangladesh fielders busy. He further grew with confidence, hitting left-arm spinner a six over long-on region.
But he got out just before the lunch, trying to defend another quicker delivery of Nayeem. He reviewed the decision immediately but in vain.
Mendis and Mathews saw off the rest of the overs of the session without any trouble.
Before the match a minute's silence was observed at the stadium in the memory of former Australian Test player Andrew Symonds, who died in an auto accident late Saturday night near the northeastern Australian city of Townsville.
