Sri Lankan Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne brings up his second consecutive Test ton in the second and final Test of the two-match series against Bangladesh in Kandy on Thursday.  He was dropped by Najmul Hossain Shanto at the slip region when he was 28. Karunaratne exploited the chance of hitting  a ton. Also Read: Sri Lanka off to cautious start as Bangladesh miss early chances  At the Tea break of the first day, Sri Lanka were batting at 188 for none in 58 overs with Karunaratne and his opening partner Lahiru Thirimanne were batting at 108 and 80 respectively.  It was the 12th Test hundred for Karunaratne, the highest by any active Sri Lankan player.  The wicket looked fairly dead in this Test as well. In the first Test, the wicket was flat and bowlers had nothing to get from the track.  The International Cricket Council has rated the wicket as below average due to its failure to provide a balanced opportunity to the batsmen and bowlers. The ground has awarded one demerit point as well.  Also Read: Sri Lanka bat first, Shoriful makes Test debut In the first session of the day, Bangladeshi bowlers were more disciplined, but in the second, they seemed to be a bit random and aimless. The first Test of the series ended in a draw, where Karunaratne had smashed a double-ton. Bangladesh’s Najmul and Mominul Haque had also hit a ton each.  Bangladesh made one change in this game including debutant Shorfiul Islam to replace Ebadot Hossain while Sri Lanka made two changes adding Lakshan Sandakan and Chamika Karunaratne to their squad to replace Lahiru Kumara and Dilshan Madushanka. Chamika Karunaratne made his debut with this game. 

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.  

Bangladeshi bowlers have failed to grab any wicket on day four of the Kandy Test against Sri Lanka despite bowling for two full sessions. At the tea break of day four, the hosts were batting at 442 for three. After Dimuth Karunaratne, Dhananjaya de Silva has also struck a century. The pair have remained unbeaten on 184 and 134, adding 252 runs in the fourth wicket stand. Also read: Sri Lanka hold firm as Karunaratne hits century For Bangladesh, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam and Taskin Ahmed bagged one wicket each. At the lunch break, Sri Lanka were trailing by 210 runs, but they have now narrowed it down to 99 runs. Earlier, Bangladesh declared their first innings at 541 for seven wickets in 173 overs before the lunch break of day three. It was the sixth-highest Test innings for the Tigers and third-highest in the overseas Tests. Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque dominated the first two days, hitting a century each. It was the first Test 100 for Najmul, and Mominul recorded his maiden century in away Tests. Also read: Taijul bemoans docile track Also, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das struck a 50 each for the visitors. For Sri Lanka, Vishwa Fernando was the most successful bowler who bagged four wickets for 96 runs in 35 overs while Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara and Dhananjaya de Silva claimed one wicket each.

  Sri Lanka continued to respond well in the Kandy Test against Bangladesh. Riding on the century of Captain Dimuth Karunarante, the hosts were batting at 331 for three in 104 overs at the launch break on day four. They ended day three at 229 for three. In the first session of day four, they added 102 runs without losing any wicket. Karunaratne and allrounder Dhananjaya de Silva were batting at 85 and 26 respectively at the end of day three. In the fourth wicket partnership, these two have already added 141 runs facing 249 balls so far. For Bangladesh, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam and Taskin Ahmed bagged one wicket each. They, however, are still 210 runs behind the visitors’ first innings total of 541 runs for seven. Also read:Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka: Recap of the Key Test Records Earlier, Bangladesh declared the first innings at 541 for seven wickets in 173 overs before the lunch break of day three. Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque dominate in the first two days as they have struck a century each. It was the first Test for Najmul, and Mominul recorded his maiden century in away Tests. Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das have struck a fifty each for the visitors. Also read:BAN vs SL Cricket Test series 2021: Expected personal ... It was the sixth-highest Test innings for the Tigers, and third highest in the overseas Tests. 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.