Bangladesh’s hopes of a first away Test win over Sri Lanka evaporated in Colombo, and Najmul Hossain Shanto did not skirt around the reason. The stand-in captain pointed squarely at his side’s 247 all out on the opening day – and the new-ball looseness that followed – as the moments that allowed the hosts to wrap up the series 1-0 with an innings victory.
“It was very disappointing [the way we played in Colombo], especially after the outstanding way we played in Galle,” Shanto said on Saturday evening. “We didn’t perform well in this Test as a team. We didn’t bat well in the first innings. It is a major reason we lost the Test. We were confident coming into the Colombo Test. We faced new conditions. Our first innings batting wasn’t up to the mark. Our first four batters got out in the 30s or 40s. It becomes difficult for the new batter to play a long innings. We need to improve in that area.”
Facts first: Bangladesh chose to bat, slipped to 81 for 4 before lunch, and were hustled out for 247. Sri Lanka replied with 458 – a 211-run advantage that forced Bangladesh to chase the game from the middle of day two. Their second-innings 133 on the fourth morning sealed an innings defeat that felt heavier because of what had happened a week earlier in Galle, where the tourists posted 495 and controlled most of the Test.
Shanto insisted the call at the toss was not to blame. “We didn’t take a wrong decision at the toss. We batted poorly in the first innings. If you look at the conditions today, the ball is spinning more. The wicket was little bit slower in the first innings, but four or five batters couldn’t make a big score after getting good starts. We made 247, but if they scored big, then we would have made 400-450. It would have been a different game.”
Anamul Haque’s pair of ducks highlighted the broader top-order wobble, and the failure to translate starts into substance meant a long stint in the field immediately afterwards. With the ball, Bangladesh leaked boundaries in the first session and could not pin Sri Lanka down. “We didn’t start well with the ball. We gave away runs at almost five runs an over. It made life hard for the rest of the bowlers as the batters had the momentum. They batted freely. We took eight wickets in a short time yesterday so if we had done it from the start, Sri Lanka wouldn’t have batter for such a long time,” he said.
Why did Mehidy Hasan Miraz open the off-spin duties ahead of Nayeem Hasan? Experience, according to the skipper. “I had more belief in Miraz given his experience and contribution to the team,” Shanto said. “There was also a bit of extra bounce when Miraz was brought into the attack. That’s why Nayeem came later into the attack. He didn’t start well too, but he came back successfully towards the end.”
Despite the loss, Shanto was keen to salvage a positive: “I think we can take Nayeem’s bowling as a positive from this Test series.” The 24-year-old off-spinner, on his return to the side, finished with eight wickets across the two matches and showed he could hold an end on unhelpful surfaces – a small gain in a bruising week.
Bangladesh now head home to prepare for white-ball assignments still searching for their first Test triumph on Sri Lankan soil. The lessons feel familiar: value first-innings runs, strike early with the new ball, and convert promising starts into telling scores. Shanto’s assessment may be blunt, but it is hard to argue with the simplicity of the diagnosis.
