The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rated the pitch used in the first Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as "below average." In a press release sent to the media on Wednesday evening, the ICC said match referee Ranjan Madugalle called the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium pitch in Kandy "substandard." So, the venue has received one demerit point under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process. Also read: Rain forces early close of high-scoring Kandy Test "The character of the pitch hardly changed over five days. There was no shift in the balance between bat and ball as the game progressed," Madugalle said. "The pitch remained batting-friendly throughout, resulting in a total of 1289 runs scored in the match for the loss of 17 wickets at an average of 75.82 runs per wicket, which is very high. So, in keeping with the ICC guidelines, I rate this pitch as below average," he added. Madugalle's report has been forwarded to Sri Lanka Cricket. Also read: Kandy Test: Bangladesh declare posting a mammoth score Both Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque and head coach Russell Domingo have criticised the wicket, too, saying it was not the wicket that they had expected ahead of the game. Dimuth Karunaratne, the hosts' captain, also said they were expecting a better wicket.  The second and final Test of this two-match series will commence tomorrow at the same venue.

The Kandy Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh Saturday ended as a high-scoring draw with one and half an hour left to play as rain forced an early close. Tamim Iqbal and captain Mominul Haque remained unbeaten on 74 and 23. Bangladesh were batting at 100 for two in their second innings of the Test in which 1289 runs were scored for 17 wickets. After the tea break of the final day, the Tigers were unable to take the field. The umpires waited for more than an hour to resume the game, but the rain wiped out the final session of the day.  It was the first draw for Bangladesh in the World Test Championship. They have now secured 30 points for their World Test Championship campaign. Also read: Tamim hits fifty as Bangladesh take lead Bangladesh lost Saif Hassan (1) and Najmul Hossain Shanto (0) at the start of their second innings. But Tamim Iqbal struck his second fifty of the match off 56 balls. He completed his fifty when the team total was 52 and ended the game on 74 off 98 balls with ten fours and three sixes. Sri Lanka declared on 648 for eight at the lunch break of the final day, securing a lead of 107 runs. Dimuth Karunaratne and Dhananjaya de Silva scored 244 and 166. It was the career-best innings for Karunaratne and second-best for Dhananjaya. Taskin Ahmed was the best bowler for Bangladesh in the high-scoring Test, taking three wickets, while Taijul Islam bagged two wickets. In the first innings of the match, Bangladesh declared on 541 for seven with Najmul (163) and Mominul (127). It was the maiden ton for Najmul in Tests while Mominul scored his first in an away Test. Also read: Bangladesh lose early wickets after Sri Lanka declare on 648 Tamim, Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das scored a fifty each for the visitors in the first innings. Vishwa Fernando was the most successful bowler for the hosts taking four wickets for 96 runs. Karunarate was awarded the player of the match award for his outstanding 244. After five days of Test, dominated almost entirely by the bat, Mominul applauded the best performers of his team saying: "I think it was a team performance. Everyone contributed, especially Shanto. Also, the bowlers tried hard, especially Taskin, Miraz and Taijul." Sri Lankan captain Karutarate said, "We thought the wicket would have good pace and bounce, but in these conditions, with the heat, it was a bit flat. In the final Test, which starts on Thursday, we want a sporting wicket that will offer some help to the bowlers as well."

Bangladesh  spent an entire day on the field but failed to take a wicket as hosts Sri Lanka piled on the runs in Kandy on day 4, before bad light stopped play in the first Test. The Tigers bowled 76 overs on Saturday and conceded 283 runs. An earlier stoppage together with the early call of stumps meant 14 overs were lost. Still it was the fourth time that Bangladesh spent an entire day on the field without a wicket coming their way. Conversely, it was the sixth instance of Sri Lanka batting an entire day without losing a wicket.  Or put another way, the same two batsmen who walked on to the field at the start of the day's play walking off with their wickets intact at stumps. For the fourth wicket, Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne and all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva have now posted 322 runs. At the end of day four, Karunarate remained unbeaten on a career-best 234, while Dhananjaya was batting at 154.  Also read: Karunaratne, de Silva continue to trouble Bangladesh Bangladesh's lead has now come down to 29 runs and would easily have been erased in all likelihood, if the overs weren't lost. At one point there was even talk of the Sri Lankan captain eyeing a daring declaration with any sort of lead, to give the Bangladesh openers a short, uncomfortable period to survive on the fourth day itself.   Now the islanders might try to score some quick runs in the fifth morning and test Bangladesh's nerves in the last two sessions.  

Sri Lanka have responded well to Bangladesh's first-innings total of 541 in the Kandy Test, scoring 229 for three in 73 overs in the Kandy Test. At the end of day three on Friday, captain Dimuth Karunaratne and all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva were batting at 85 and 26. Sri Lanka are trailing by 312 runs with two days to left play. The Lankans started well before the lunch break of day three, posting 114 runs in the first wicket stand, thanks to 58 off Lahiru Thirimanne.  For Bangladesh, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam and Taskin Ahmed bagged one wicket each.  Earlier, the Tigers declared the first innings at 541/7 in 173 overs before the lunch break of day three. This is the sixth-highest Test innings for the Tigers and the third-highest in overseas Tests.  Also read: Kandy Test: Bangladesh declare posting a mammoth score Both overnight batsmen, Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das scored a 50 each. Liton fell prey to Vishwa Fernando, for 50, Mushfiqur remained unbeaten on 68.  After Liton's dismissal, Bangladesh lost Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam in quick succession. Taskin Ahmed came to bat at number nine and remained not-out for six. Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque dominated the first two days of the game, hitting a 100 each. It was the first Test 100 for Najmul, and Mominul recorded his maiden century in away Tests. Also, Tamim Iqbal set the tone for Bangladesh's innings, scoring 90 runs. For Sri Lanka, Vishwa Fernando was the most successful bowler who bagged four wickets in the batting paradise, conceding 96 runs in 35 overs, while Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara and Dhananjaya de Silva took one wicket each.

Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo says he is expecting some quick runs on the morning of the third day of Kandy Test to put more pressure on hosts Sri Lanka. The play of the second day ended early due to bad light when Bangladesh were batting at 474 for four, with Mushfiqur Rahim (43*) and Liton Das (25*) at the crease. “We’ll discuss it (how many runs are safe) overnight but we need to get some quick runs tomorrow morning,” Domingo told the media through a virtual press conference at the end of day two. “If we can get around 520, it gives us a good opportunity to put them under some pressure.” Also read: Ban v SL Day 2: Tigers 474/4 at stumps Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque have struck centuries. While it was the maiden ton for Najmul, Mominul recorded his first in away Tests. Domingo lauded both for their performance. “I think there’s been a lot of discussion about how he goes about his innings. Being a bit more patient, leaving a few more balls, cutting out certain scoring areas. He has played a fantastic innings. I’m really pleased with him. He’s worked really hard on his game in the last couple of months,” Domingo said about Shanto. “I think Mominul understands his game really well. He’s a very calm person. I think his demeanour lends him to be a very organised Test batsman. He’s meticulous in his preparation. I think he’s a fantastic Test batsman and he’s trying his best to lead the side. He got a hundred against the West Indies, and followed up with a hundred here again,” Domingo said. Also read: Mominul scores first century on foreign soil The wicket of Kandy is mostly friendly to the batsmen. In the first two days, bowlers hardly got anything from the wicket. “Winning the Test is a long way away. It’s not something we’re thinking about at the moment. Our main focus is to play well in the first session tomorrow. There’s a lot of hard work ahead of us to even consider thinking of winning this Test,” Domingo added.

Bangladesh scored a massive 474/4 in 155 overs at the end of day 2 of the Kandy Test against Sri Lanka. The umpires called the second day after keeping the game stopped for more than an hour due to bad light. Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das were unbeaten for 43 and 25 respectively. The sky was dark at local time 4pm when the batsmen returned to the dressing room due to the bad light and waited for more than an hour for the game to resume. The umpires called it a day at local time 5pm. Sri Lankan bowlers were disciplined on day two and kept the run rate lower than the previous day. Despite that, Bangladesh's superb batting performance have put them in the driving seat. Najmul Hossain Shanto hit his maiden ton (163) while Mominul Haque fell for 127, his first century on foreign soil. Also read: Mominul scores first century on foreign soil The 242-run partnership between Najmul and Mominul is now the highest third-wicket stand for Bangladesh in Tests. Najmul prodded a return catch to Lahiru Kumara to get dismissed while Mominul tried to drive off Dhananjaya de Silva away from his body with an angled bat but ended up giving a catch to Lahiru Thirimanne at the first slip. On day one, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first. They lost opener Saif Hassan in the second over of the match. But the visitors recovered from the initial damage as Tamim Iqbal and Najmul put up a 144-run partnership in the second wicket stand. This series is part of the World Test Championship. Bangladesh have played five matches of this event and failed to win any of them. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, played 10 matches -- one win, six losses and three draws. Bangladesh played a total of 12 matches in Sri Lanka and won one of them in 2017 which was Bangladesh’s last overseas Test win to date.

Bangladesh top-order batsman Najmul Hossain Shanto said they are looking forward to batting longer to ensure a commanding position for the Tigers in the Kandy Test against Sri Lanka. Bangladesh won the toss on Wednesday and opted to bat first in the first Test of the two-match series. They accumulated 302 runs for two wickets at the end of the day thanks to the maiden ton by Najmul (126*). “It’s too early to think about the result of this game,” Najmul told a virtual press conference after day’s play. “It’s just day one. The longer we can bat, the more control we’ll have in this game. We’re looking forward to batting for a long time.” Najmul came to the national set-up playing at all stages of the development group of Bangladesh cricket. But he disappointed with the bat in six Tests that he played so far. Najmul, however, played well at the domestic circuit. “I had nothing to prove,” Najmul added. “I’ve worked so hard over the last four-five months. So I believed that I score at any moment. I was relaxed at the wicket. I just wanted to stay calm and keep enjoying my batting which eventually resulted in a good way.” Also read: BD v SL: Najmul hits maiden Test ton as Tigers take control Bangladesh lost the right-handed opener, Saif Hassan, off the last ball of the second over of the match which forced Najmul to come to bat early in the morning. He took it as an opportunity and batted through almost the entire day. The 22-year-old batsman has credited Tamim Iqbal for his success. He said: “It was tough to bat in the first session as there was some movement. Tamim told me to stay calm and play carefully. He also said the wicket is good to bat. Tamim batted well which helped me to take some time and get adapted.” Najmul partnered with Tamim in the second wicket to post 144 runs, and he accompanied Mominul Haque in the third wicket to add 150 runs on the board – the highest third-wicket partnership for Bangladesh in away Tests. “I didn’t think much about how many balls I faced or how many runs I scored. We were focused to make big partnerships. We took one step at a time which helped to come up with the big partnerships. Now the next session is very important for us. If we can play well in the first session, it’ll help us to understand how many runs we need to in the first innings and after that, we may think about winning this game,” Najmul added.

Najmul Hossain Shanto registered his maiden Test century on Wednesday as Bangladesh took control of Kandy Test against Sri Lanka. At the end of the first day’s play, Tigers had amassed 302 for two wickets. Najmul and Mominul Haque were unbeaten for 126 and 64 respectively. Najmul hit 14 fours and one six while Mominul scored six fours.  Bangladesh captain Mominul won the toss and opted to bat first. The decision proved to be right despite losing Saif Hassan in the second over of the innings. After Saif’s dismissal, Najmul came and batted with great discipline through almost the entire day. He partnered with Tamim in the second wicket to post a partnership of 144 runs. Najmul accompanied Mominul in the third wicket stand, which was impregnable at the end of the day, to add 150 runs. It is now the highest third-wicket partnership for Bangladesh in away Tests. They still have a good chance to make it even bigger.