First Test Match Report: BAN vs SL Series 2022  

Sri Lanka understandably opted to bat first in the first Test in Chattogram, and they made 397 runs. Veteran Angelo Mathews was the top scorer for Sri Lanka, who guided the innings by playing a 199-run knock. Besides, Kusal Mendis (54) and Dinesh Chandimal (66) also had good contributions with the bat. Off-spinner Nayeem Hasan picked up six wickets for the hosts.

In reply, Bangladesh were all-out for 465 in the third session of day 4. Tamim Iqbal (133), and Mushfiqur Rahim (105) both scored centuries. It was a special match for Mushfiqur as he reached his 5,000 Test runs milestone. Apart from them, Mahmudul Hasan Joy (58) and Litton Das (88) made two valuable contributions with the bat for the Tigers. Medium-pacer Kasun Rajitha picked up the highest 4 wickets for the Lankan side.

Bangladesh did manage to pick up a couple of wickets before the end of day 4 and four more wickets in the second session of day 5. However, an unbeaten 99*-run partnership between Dinesh Chandimal (39) and Niroshan Dickwella (61) saved the match for the visitors. Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne (52) also made a fifty for his side. In Sri Lanka's second innings, left-arm orthodox spinner Taijul Islam bagged four wickets for Bangladesh. Angelo Mathews won the Player of the Match award for his outstanding contribution with the bat in the first innings.

Major Outcomes for Bangladesh from the First Test of the Series

The series-opening match against Sri Lanka produced some notable outcomes for Bangladesh. The majority of the discussion topics revolve around batting since the batters dominated most of the contest.

Read: Shoriful ruled out of second Test vs Sri Lanka

Mushfiqur Rahim Hits the 5000 Test Runs Milestone

Bangladesh’s big takeaway from the match was Mushfiqur Rahim’s 5,000 runs milestone in the Test format. He became the first Bangladeshi player to achieve the feat by scoring 105 runs in the first innings of Bangladesh. Though Tamim had a chance to reach the landmark before Mushfiqur, he retired hurt on 133 due to a muscle strain. At that moment, Tamim was 19 runs away from scoring his 5,000 Test runs. Mushfiqur Rahim was under pressure prior to this series for not being able to play to his full potential. He was even warned by BCB's president that the selectors may consider dropping Mushfiqur if his barren run with the bat continues. So, it was a perfect response by Bangladesh’s most dependable batter. Overall, Mushfiqur Rahim has scored 5,037 runs in 81 matches with an average of 36.76. In Tests, he has a total of 825 fifties.

Top five most runs for Bangladesh in Tests

Player	Match	Runs	HS	Ave	100s
Mushfiqur Rahim	81	5,037	219*	36.76	8
Tamim Iqbal	66	4,981	206	40.16	10
Shakib Al Hasan	60	4,055	217	39.36	5
Mominul Haque	52	3,516	181	39.06	11
Habibul Bashar	50	3,026	113	30.87	3

    Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/

Tamim Iqbal’s Aggressive Hundred

Tamim made 133 off 218 balls in Bangladesh's first innings, striking the ball at a rate of 61. It was his 10th Test century and 25 overall. Tamim Iqbal has changed his batting style in the longer-version format in recent years. He is now more aggressive than he used to be and always tries to attack the opposition bowling attack. That is why Tamim’s strike rate over the last five years has been one of the best in the world. He has had the third-best strike rate among the openers (minimum 10 innings) in the Test format since 2017.

Top five best strike rates by the openers since 2017 (at least 10 innings) 

Player	Innings	Runs	Strike Rates	HS	100s
Shikhar Dhawan (India)	19	851	83.75	190	3
Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka)	14	307	65.73	64	0
Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh)	41	1593	64.07	133	2
David Warner (Australia)	63	2660	61.50	335*	7
Aiden Markram (South Africa)	53	1900	59.33	152	5

   Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/

Nayeem Hasan has the potential to replace Mehidy Hasan Miraz

Nayeem Hasan had a great outing in this match, coming on to replace the injured Mehidy Hasan Miraz. The off-spinner made his Test debut almost four years ago against the West Indies in 2018. Since then, he has taken 31 wickets in 8 matches, including his career-best 6/105 against Sri Lanka in the first innings of the first Test in Chattogram. Nayeem’s bowling in the first innings was sparkling and caused real trouble for the Lankan batters. More importantly, most of his wickets were crucial. After this strong showing with the ball, Nayeem has definitely established a genuine case for himself with the selectors to consider him regularly for the longer-version format. If not, he should be the first choice if Mehidy Miraz falls victim to any injury in the future.

Read: Chattogram Test: Bangladesh in driving seat

Bangladesh's defensive batting strategy on the fourth day

Since the pitch was suited to the batters, it was anticipated that runs would score in the first match. Expectedly, the batters did flourish from day 1 to day 4, as 901 runs had been scored for the loss of 22 wickets, averaging 225.25 runs per day. However, the run rate came down to 2.58 on day 4, which indicates players took a cautious approach to their batting. Since Bangladesh batted the whole day on day four, except for the last 17 overs, the blame should go to the home side in case of lower run rates. Mushfiqur Rahim, who was praised for reaching his 5,000 Test runs milestone on that particular day, was the main culprit for low run rates. Rahim had to play 285 balls for his 105 runs on a relatively very good batting surface. One can argue that the Bangladesh team should blame themselves for not creating a winning situation because of their defensive batting approach.

Aftermath

Bangladesh played safe and earned a draw in the BAN vs SL first Test 2022. The Tigers' team campaign had set the expectation that they would strive for a win against a relatively inexperienced Lankan side. However, Bangladesh did not appear worried about winning the match at any stage throughout the game. They took a defensive approach and got the outcome they wanted. Bangladesh should adjust its strategy for the second Test in Dhaka. The pitches at Mirpur would be more favorable to spinners, therefore the match should produce a result.