Sri Lanka Aims for Unassailable Lead After Dominating Bangladesh on Day 2; Mendis Predicts Spin to Decide Test

Sri Lanka Eyes Commanding Lead After Dominating Day 2 Against Bangladesh

Kusal Mendis, the Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batter, expressed confidence that securing a lead of 150-200 runs would place his team in a dominant position. He anticipates that spin bowling will be a significant factor in the final two days of the ongoing second Test match.

Mendis credited Nissanka for his brilliant batting display © AFP

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

"We are in a very good position, and our aim is to bat throughout the entire day tomorrow. We are targeting a lead of 150 to 200 runs. We are anticipating that the wicket will favor spin bowling in the last two days," Mendis stated following 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 hopeful of achieving this goal tomorrow."

Mendis elaborated on the evolving conditions, stating, "The grass has dried out, and footmarks are beginning to appear, leading me to believe that the pitch will offer more turn. We are aiming to avoid batting in the fourth innings. Our focus is on batting deep now and putting them under pressure."

Mendis lauded Nissanka for his exceptional batting performance and emphasized the importance of acknowledging the efforts of their pace bowlers, who played a crucial role in dismissing the opposition for under 250 runs.

"He (Pathum) has been a treat to watch. He batted so well. Even in the last series, he was amongst the runs. It was a shame he missed out on a double hundred in Galle - I hope he gets there here. He has been our in-form batter in all three formats. He works hard on his game, and that's clearly visible."

"What we planned, the quicks executed. They were disciplined with their lengths and lines. On a pitch with not much pace, that's exactly what you need - not just with the new ball, but with the old ball too. That's the best I have seen our fast bowlers bowl in Sri Lanka."

"We knew the wicket would slow down and turn. Our fast bowlers were outstanding, and they deserve a lot of credit. I believe as we head into Day Four, conditions will be very different to what we've seen so far," he added.

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

"Where we missed a trick was not building big partnerships yesterday and as a result we went into today with only two or three wickets in hand."

"It comes back to our batting and the partnerships we failed to build. At least two or three guys should have carried on yesterday and gotten big scores. I hope we've taken note of how well Nissanka batted, and that we come out in the second innings aiming for big runs."

"The wicket definitely improved as on the first day, it was a bit sticky and two-paced. Today, it got a lot better, and we saw how easy it was for the batters. There wasn't as much turn as yesterday, and the batters batted well. That's what Test cricket is about sometimes," he added.