Sri Lanka, Bangladesh settle for draw as Angelo Mathews bows out

GALLE: Home side Sri Lanka on Saturday, salvaged a draw against Bangladesh in the first Test of the two-match series against Bangladesh, which marked the end of veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews’s glittering career.

The players shook hands with Sri Lanka 72/4 while chasing 296 and five overs left of the rain-hit final day.

The hosts, however, sustained a massive scare when they had been reduced to 48/4 in 23.1 overs but skipper Dhananjaya de Silva and middle-order batter Kamindu Mendis stopped the collapse by surviving 53 deliveries.

At the stumps, both de Silva and Mendis were unbeaten on 12 each.

Taijul Islam led Bangladesh’s bowling charge in the second innings with three wickets, while Nayeem Hasan claimed one.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh resumed their second innings from 177/3, leading by 187 runs, through captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and experienced wicketkeeper batter Mushfiqur Rahim.

The duo added 60 runs to their overnight partnership until Rahim had an agonising end to his innings as he got run out on 49.

Bangladesh then lost two more wickets in quick succession as Litton Das (three) and Jaker Ali (two) fell cheaply.

With the scoreboard reading 249/6 in 79 overs, Shanto put together a one-sided 36-run partnership with Nayeem and brought up his second consecutive century in the process.

He was unbeaten on 125 off 199 deliveries, studded with a dozen boundaries including three sixes when he declared Bangladesh’s second innings at 285/6, setting Sri Lanka a 296-run target.

Tharindu Rathnayake was the standout bowler for Sri Lanka in the second innings, taking three wickets, while Prabath Jayasuriya and Milan Rathnayake chipped in with one scalp apiece.

The second and final Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be played at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo from June 25 to 29.