GALLE – Day three gave batsmen the upper hand, and Sri Lanka cashed in. Bangladesh had earlier posted a healthy 495, yet by stumps the hosts were racing along at 368 for 4, only 127 behind. Shaun Tait, in his first match as Bangladesh fast-bowling coach, felt the opening burst with the shiny ball set the tone.
“It is a good batting wicket, and it was difficult conditions for fast bowlers today,” Tait said. “They toiled hard. They gave effort. We could have started better with the first new ball. We probably missed out. They know that. That’s all you can ask for.”
Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana took the first spell—six overs for Mahmud, seven for Rana—but neither found a breakthrough. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam eventually removed Kusal Perera in the 13th over, yet the seamers didn’t strike until late in the evening. By then Pathum Nissanka was well on the way to a career-best 187, peppering the ropes 23 times and lifting a lone six in a 256-ball stay that rarely looked rushed.
“I think they batted really well. Sri Lanka are no pushovers. This is the team that was competing for the WTC final,” Tait added. “The pacers missed a trick with the new ball. It would have been nice if they had taken a couple of wickets…but I am not going to be negative.”
Galle often starts to crumble for spinners by the third afternoon, yet this strip behaved politely. “I think the wicket is pretty good,” Tait observed. “It hasn’t changed a great deal… It probably hasn’t spun as much as maybe people thought it would.” He did note, though, that “Test cricket can change pretty quickly. There’s hard work to be done.”
Bangladesh’s attack was already thin. Mehidy Hasan Miraz woke up unwell and couldn’t play, leaving just four recognised bowlers. Rana, eight Tests into his career, searched for that fuller attacking length and leaked 80 runs in 16 overs. Tait backed the 20-year-old publicly.
“Anyone who bowls that pace should get the new ball from time to time,” he said. “I don’t know, going forward, who is going to take the new ball… He is absolutely fine.”
The Australian was equally candid about the youngster’s learning curve. “It is early in his career. He burst onto the scene. There’s a lot of attention and expectation on him… It is up to me to work through that with him as the bowling coach. It is not just about the bowling all the time. It is also how you deal with the extra pressure of being a young superstar.”
Mahmud eventually nicked off Nissanka 15 minutes before the close, a small win that drew muted applause from a sparsely populated ground. Angelo Mathews (on 42) and nightwatchman Prabath Jayasuriya (5) survived a tricky final spell. With two full days left, the game remains delicately poised—yet Sri Lanka, four wickets in hand and a flat deck beneath them, appear a stride ahead.
Key numbers
• Bangladesh 495 (Mushfiqur 168, Shanto 112)
• Sri Lanka 368-4 at stumps, trail by 127
• Nissanka 187 – highest Test score, third century overall
What next?
Bangladesh need early wickets with the softer ball or risk chasing leather again. Taijul, their lone specialist spinner on duty, may become the workhorse if the surface finally starts to bite. Conversely, Sri Lanka will eye a first-innings lead that flips pressure back on the visitors.
It is still shaping as a batter-friendly contest, yet as Tait noted, “you bowl on a different day on a different wicket, you get a different result.” Two days remain to find out which side adapts quicker.
