Sri Lanka got the breakthrough they were looking for early on the final day of their series-deciding Test against Bangladesh in Mirpur today.

“Not only me, all six batters need to perform because, given the situation, they will definitely attack and we need to survive the first hour and not lose wickets before lunch.

Bangladesh once again dug themselves into a hole just when it seemed that the second and series-deciding Test match against Sri Lanka may end in a draw as their fragile top-order made even saving the Test match on the fifth and final day an extremely difficult task.

Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque has been in the firing line in recent times following his below-par performance with the bat, and the left-hander once again failed miserably in the ongoing second Test against Sri Lanka in Mirpur.

Premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan said that Bangladesh are one of the fittest teams in Tests. 

Bangladesh batters have brought back the fresh, traumatic memories for their fans as the hosts repeated a disastrous start in their second innings on day four of the Dhaka Test today.

Bangladesh bowlers have something to smile about after a tiresome day in the field on day four of the second Test of the two-match series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.

Sri Lanka batter Dinesh Chandimal was the latest to pull off three figures for his side after Angelo Mathews scored his second century of the two-match test series against hosts Bangladesh as the visitors keep gaining momentum on day four of the Dhaka Test today.

Bangladesh may not have an impressive Test records in the last 15 Test they played, having won only three matches where two of them came against the lowly ranked Zimbabwe. However, two Bangladesh batters have been exceptional during this period and find themselves on top in two separate lists.

Bangladesh left-arm spinner Taijul Islam has been fined 25 per cent of his match fees, slapped with a demerit point as well, for throwing the ball at Angelo Mathews even though the Sri Lanka batter was safe inside his crease and was not even looking to take a run.

Since rain played foul, washing out over two hours of the third days’ play in the second and series deciding Test, Bangladesh will be eyeing to remove in-form Angelo Matthews on the fourth day. Mathews has reached a fifty and will hold the key for Sri Lanka as they look to take a first-innings lead for the visitors today.

There was a wonderful trajectory to Shakib Al Hasan’s deliveries and he kept Bangladesh in the game on a day largely foiled by rain.

Despite having the big names of world cricket in Bangladesh's fast bowling coach over the years, with the likes of Courtney Walsh, Ottis Gibson and now Allan Donald working as the pace bowling coach, Bangladesh’s seam bowling department is yet to become an intimidating force, especially in the longest format of the game.

Half-centuries on Day 3 from former skipper Angelo Mathews and all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva took Sri Lanka to a position of strength in the second and deciding Test against Bangladesh in Mirpur on Wednesday.

Bangladesh batter Liton Das and Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews have made valuable gains in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings after fine performances in the drawn first match of their ICC World Test Championship series in Chattogram.

Both Shakib and Mushfiqur are 35 and Tamim is 33. Siddons said that his aim was to get the seniors to end their careers on a high.

The visitors reached 210 for four at Lunch, which was taken five balls ahead of schedule due to rain.

“He has a deeper understanding of his game and that is making the difference,” Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, a long-term mentor to Mushfiqur Rahim, said about one of his favourite students while talking to The Daily Star yesterday.

The third day of the second and series-deciding Test in Mirpur will be crucial for Bangladesh and their hopes of seizing control by taking a first-innings lead against Sri Lanka. The visitors will resume on 143 for two, trailing by another 222 runs.

Liton Das has been the name of a revolution for Bangladesh over the past one year or so as the elegant right-hander keeps taking his game to greater heights with commendable consistency.